Hay Bales and Hot Bylines
by KoalaLou
Summary: My entry in the Falling Into Autumn Contest. I won Judges Vote – 1st Place, Public Vote 3rd Place, and 2 Judges Picks. "My first serious journalistic field assignment was to cover the 35th Forks Fall Festival. Who do I run up against but the hottest byline in the county...I couldn't believe this was happening. Out of all the guys in Forks, it was him. Of course it was him."
1. Chapter 1-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**This is my entry in the Falling Into Autumn Contest.**

 **I'm overwhelmed and honored to have won the following:**

 **Judges Vote – First Place**

 **Public Vote – Third Place.**

 **Judges Pick - Bratty-Vamp**

 **Judges Pick -** **MagTwi78**

 **Thanks to all those involved the contest for all the time and** **hard work they put into it and congratulation to all the writers involved.**

 **I have decided to continue this story into a multi-chapter fic, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind.** **I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

This was it. My big break. I'd done more than my fair share of coffee runs, early morning starts and late night stays. Now, today, I was finally being let loose on the good folks of Washington to write my first solo report for the originally named _Forks Reporter._

Ok, so it wasn't the front-page news event I'd dreamt of when I was a seven-year-old interviewing dolls in my tree house, but it was a start.

I'd spent far too much of the previous day planning my outfit for today. I certainly didn't want to look too casual for my first day solo in the field, but knowing I'd be spending most of it outside meant I had to dress for the weather and this fall was pretty vicious.

The richly colored leaves had been helped from their branches by the unwelcome wind that had whipped around our little town for the past week or so, indiscriminately ripping tiles from roofs and sending wobbly mail boxes crashing to the ground. That, however, was a different story, for a different reporter because my first solo job was full coverage of Forks' 35th annual Fall Festival.

When Alec announced my assignment at last week's team meeting I'd played it cool (I hoped) and pretended I wasn't excited but I remembered about ten of those thirty-five festivals from my own childhood.

From about the ages of six to sixteen I'd visited them with my dad, eating so much cotton candy I'd feel sick. We'd stand and watch at the toffee apple stall, inhaling the sickly sweet smell as the old man in charge expertly coated the apples in just the right amount of toffee to make your teeth stick together when you took your first delicious bite. Now, my keen reporter's eye had noticed the last time I visited, there was a newer, modern stall, run by a teenager who looked very inconvenienced by his customers. The toffee apples were all coated in chocolate, or sprinkles, or nuts, or worse, all three. I don't know why because the whole point of a toffee apple was the toffee but I guess, while that little fact annoyed me, it wasn't exactly front page news. And my job was to find the front page news.

My pursuit of such news had led me to the Fall Festival on a crisp and thankfully dry Saturday. Working on a Saturday wasn't at the top of my list of fun weekend activities but I knew I had to work my way up the pecking order. Mike Newton, the boss's son, sure as hell wasn't out covering a town festival in these windy conditions and Tyler Crawley positively beamed when he heard I had the assignment this year. Apparently last year he'd upset too many of the kids, and parents too, when he tripped and fell on several of the best carved pumpkin entries, squashing them to a pulp minutes before the judging started.

I consoled myself with the knowledge that I was unlikely to do a worse job than he had. However, I knew that while I was determined to do a better job than Tyler, he wasn't my main competition. Edward Cullen, reporter extraordinaire, would apparently be gracing the festival with his presence today. He was reporting for the Clallam County Chronicles, the bigger county paper and the only other one for miles around.

I knew more about Edward's reputation than I knew about the man himself. He was a few years ahead of me in school so we were close enough in age to overlap at Forks High, but not to socialize. Not that that stopped some of the girls in my class from trying. The rolled up skirts and extra layer of lipstick never did work though. It appeared the only way to get noticed by Edward Cullen was to have your dad arrest him for something it was later found out he didn't do. That was a great way for him to know exactly who you were in the corridors of Forks High.

And to have him hate you for it.

I sighed at the memory of the way his piercing green eyes always cut right through me, making me shrink into the lockers of the high school hallway whenever he strode past with his gaggle of girls.

I was unsure why he was even reporting at the festival, I'd have thought it was beneath him but I'd heard around town that he'd volunteered this year. Knowing his reputation it was probably so a colleague could visit a sick grandparent or attend a child's birthday. Edward was the town's sweetheart, he was the victim, a hero who could do no wrong, but for the above reason, he and I had never hit it off. Maybe because every other female in town tried to hit it off with him.

I followed the painted wooden signs to the parking lot, knowing the overnight rain would make parking in Mr. Cope's field almost impossible. Large tire tracks were now embedded in the wet sludgy mud which my car wheels slid into despite my best efforts to avoid them and find my own path. I slowed to a crawl until I found a spot and managed to maneuver Maggie, my beloved 1969 blue barracuda, into the relatively small spot between a Volvo and a station wagon.

Fortunately for me Grace was not my middle name because the irony of that would have been newsworthy. I was notoriously unbalanced and ungraceful so I made a conscious effort to exit my car carefully. Unfortunately I was so busy watching my footing in the sludgy mud I didn't look where I was walking. That's probably the reason I walked head first into someone, making me stumble back with an 'oomph' as my feet slid around, desperate for purchase but only finding wet mud.

My arms were full of everything I thought I needed for the day. I didn't want to forget anything for my first solo job so I'd brought enough notebooks to copy out War and Peace on, plenty of pens, including my favorite pen which was decorated in nerdy glasses. In my other hand were several recording devices, (I didn't want one of them jamming on me right as the leaf-wreath winner was announced) as well as spare batteries. I knew I could use my iPhone, but I had visions of being a proper reporter, pulling out my cassette recorder, shoving it under some unsuspecting soul's nose and asking a ton of often boring and sometimes inappropriate questions.

Hanging off my arm by a wrist strap was my trusty camera. Complete with the deluxe, oversized flash attachment. The newspaper's budget wasn't big enough for a reporter and a photographer and my phone didn't cut it for photos that needed to be printed, so this was my best bet.

I'd also packed myself a lunch along with two bottles of water, because I always get cranky, really cranky if I get dehydrated, and today was no time to be cranky.

Carrying all this kit around with me meant my hands were too full to catch my balance. I'd just convinced myself that I was about to land, ass first, into the muddy slop I was trying to walk on, when a pair of hands gripped my upper arms and steadied me.

I saw his strong, sturdy, remarkably clean, workman type boots first. How were this guy's boots not covered in mud? Growing up, my mom always said I attracted mud and trouble but I hadn't thought she meant it literally...until now.

My astonishment at his clean boots was only eclipsed by my astonishment at him. My eyes, rather unintentionally, followed his body northwards, over his loose-but-hugging-all-the-right-parts-of-him-jeans to his silver belt buckle. I gulped and continued my visual assault, over his red check shirt, which was open to reveal a tight, plain white, V-necked tee. A few chest hairs poked out the top of the tee, making my eyes pause before they carried on over his Adam's apple to the stubble on his jaw. It wasn't until my eyes finally met his that I shook my head and finally found my footing.

I couldn't believe this was happening. Of all the guys in Forks, it was him. Of course it was him.

"Well, well, well. We meet again, Miss Swan." His voice was smooth and annoyingly chipper as he stared at my credentials badge. I made a mental note to move that badge away from my breasts as I now felt like he was staring right at them. I can't say I minded too much, but if creepy Mr. Clearwater from the local organic fruit stall was here, as I assumed he would be, it would be a different story.

Edward slowly released my arms, his hands hovering near my shoulders for a second to check I had regained my balance before he crossed them over his chest in an annoyingly manly stance.

"Errr, hi? Hi." I greeted him, changing my unsure question into a statement as his smile turned from amusement to surprise.

I shook my head. I was a full-fledged reporter now; I'd completed the _Sexual Harassment in the Workplace_ training and everything. I was a proper adult with a job that would be the start of my career. I wasn't going to let this golden boy disarm me. I was a member of the United States Honor Society for Journalism Students, and an award-attending reporter. Granted that wasn't the best byline, but I was confident I would one day be an award-winning reporter, like Mr. Smug Pants in front of me. I briefly wondered if he should be smug about what was in his pants but I shook that thought from my mind. Yes I did. I did. Kind of.

I cleared my throat and held my head up high. "Edward, how nice to see you here."

"You too. You look very...prepared." His smirk of amusement was back as he eyed the items I was holding.

"Yes, well, I'm sure you were a Boy Scout. Always be prepared and all that."

"Bella, I am always prepared," he announced, with such mock seriousness I was sure he was talking about being prepared for something other than reporting on Forks' largest carrot.

"Oh. That's, err, that's good to know," I mumbled, glancing at the pen and pencil tucked neatly into his shirt pocket and the slightly curling spiral-bound notebook protruding from the back pocket of his jeans. "Hmmm." Yep. Now I definitely knew I was rather over prepared.

Edward, however, looked highly amused at my collection of recorders and stationery. Thankfully he managed to keep his comments about 'old relics', 'museum pieces' and 'Starsky and Hutch era' to a minimum as I decided to offload some of my haul while I was still close enough to Maggie.

In an amazing effort of coordination and balance I managed to make it back to my car and leave most of the items in the trunk. Having spotted Mrs. Banner's soup kitchen's truck in the parking lot, I also dumped my lunch in favor of hot, wholesome food rather than sandwiches. I then applied some lip balm before leaving that in the truck, too. For moisturizing purposes only, of course. Not to smell nice or attract anyone in particular. No, just because it was windy. Yes, it was very windy today.

With a smaller bag consisting of the bare essentials I took a deep breath and turned to face the muddy slop I'd have to negotiate again.

To my surprise Edward was standing where I'd left him, waiting for me. I wished he wasn't, I must have looked like a baby giraffe taking its first steps as I tried to navigate the muddy swamp people in this town called a parking lot. When I hobbled close enough to him he offered me his arm. I looked up at him with a scowl, muttering quietly about not being an invalid but I took his arm anyway when he told me not to be so stubborn. His resulting grin was quite cute, but I didn't want him to know that. We were working for rival newspapers; I could not find him cute. Or hot. Or sexy. Nope. Good job I didn't think any of those things. At all.

I shook my head and cleared my mind of cute, hot, sexy men. This industry had become competitive enough in recent years with the rise of online publications and the varying ways the public now consumed the news. I couldn't mingle with the competition.

Even when the competition was cute.

Especially when the competition was cute.

Really cute.

Once we reached the relative safety of the much dryer main field, I released Edward's arm and looked down at myself, straightening my top and my credentials badge as we joined the short line at the entrance.

I took in the large flatbed truck which signaled the entrance to the festival. It housed two rows of pumpkins. Each had a letter carved into it, spelling out Fall Festival. A string of fairy lights hung above each row, waiting for dusk to fall before lighting up the pumpkins.

When I turned back to Edward, it was my turn to look at him smugly because his eyes were watching me and my inappropriately placed badge. When he finally drew his eyes upwards to meet my face, I raised my eyebrows at his unprofessional manner. He cleared his throat and when he spoke he sounded more than a little apologetic.

"Wanna do this together?"

I looked at him blankly, looking more like a goldfish than a giraffe now as he smirked rather irritatingly before clarifying his words.

"The festival. We're both going to need to talk to the same people. The organizers, the competition winners, the sore losers, the poor sod who breaks a leg in that parking lot. Which judging by earlier, might be you!"

I scowled at him, looking very unimpressed at his joke.

He laughed. "No, seriously, we could stick together and get this over and done with?"

"Over and done with? Are you in a rush? Somewhere to be tonight?"

Of course he must have a hot date tonight, just look at him! His rough but still perfect hair, his stubbled, angled jaw, his piercing eyes and tall frame which seemed to repel any dirt (sending it in my direction, I think) and glide along as if he was out for a morning stroll, not here for a serious journalistic report.

Women smiled in his direction. Old ladies waved fondly at him and men hi-fived him like he was still the town's biggest soccer hero. I think I'd heard through the grapevine that he now coached the town's team and still held the record for the all-time top goal scorer at Forks High but still, high fives between men after college age should be banned. Even for town heroes.

But having noticed how he was seemingly adored by the whole town I couldn't deny it could prove useful to stick close to him all afternoon. Really close to him. For the article, of course.

"Yeah, I have plans tonight, so...shall we…" he gestured for me to lead the way, not a good idea in my experience; I was likely to trip up again and end up covered in more mud than I had already attracted.

"Sure," I answered, sounding less than sure even to my own ears.

We then queued in a slightly awkward silence while more visitors sent smiles and high-fives in Edward's direction until we thankfully reached the front of the line. Edward, whose credentials badge was on a fancy lanyard, (I should get myself one of those), flashed his card, sadly just his card, and was waved through by a fake-eyelash fluttering, false-nail wearing woman who seemed not to notice me until Edward had passed her. She then looked suspiciously at my credentials badge, still stuck over my left boob, for so long that I was beginning to think I had nothing to worry about with her hitting on Edward because my boob was so fascinating to her.

When she finally gave me a smile and waved me through Edward seemed amused by the whole episode. I soon wiped the grin from his face and made him frown slightly in mock displeasure when I unpinned my badge and pinned it more appropriately to my top.

A poor soul dressed as a scarecrow, complete with straw sticking out of his hat and shirt-sleeves handed us a program of events. Edward and I flicked through it, noting the times of the competitions and the various events that were taking place.

Apple bobbing was first, but that didn't start for half an hour so we decided to head to the tent where the fruits and vegetables would be laid out for judging.

Edward's head knocked the hessian banner which was strung across the entrance to the marquee as we entered. The pungent aroma of spices and apple cider hit me, filling my nose with smells and my mind with memories.

I looked round for the stall responsible but Edward grabbed my upper arm and pulled me towards the vegetable table.

"We're here for work, Swan. You can get drunk on your own watch."

"Hey!" I should have been offended by his words but when I looked at him, I could tell he was trying to rile me up and my stubborn side didn't want to give him the satisfaction of winning.

"I might need a stiff drink if I'm going to spend the afternoon with you," I muttered as he chuckled but continued to steer me away from the sweet smelling cider towards a table of weird, wonderful and oversized vegetables.

"So many jokes, so little time," I remarked as Edward turned away from the table to look at me.

"Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself, Swan."

"You mean that cucumber doesn't look like…"

"I don't know who you've been dating but no. I see nothing out of the ordinary about that vegetable."

"Hmm. Sure." I raised my eyebrows at him and could tell he was suppressing a smile.

"Come on…" I continued, looking back to the table "...look at that potato it looks like Mr. Wolf who taught biology…"

"Oh yeah, you're right!" Edward interrupted with a laugh, making me question my conviction that he hated me. He'd been remarkably friendly which was confusing and throwing me off my game. I didn't have much game (unlike Edward) so I needed all the game I could muster.

 _Huh!_ That was it. Edward (the game stealer) was being overly friendly. He was pretending to like me to disarm me and get the best interviews and information. Sneaky. But not sneaky enough, I'm a reporter remember, trained to read between the lines and get the real story.

Now that I'd figured out Edward's game-stealing agenda I'd play along, pretending he was charming wasn't exactly difficult, but I was onto him, metaphorically of course.

Sadly only metaphorically.

While I was busy busting Edward's master plan, he had wandered ahead to the table of autumnal flowers and leaves arranged in various vases, watering-cans and even a mini wheelbarrow. All displayed a rich pallet of reds, oranges and yellows and most housed buckeyes, acorns and pinecones to help with the arrangement.

Edward turned to me, speaking as he walked backwards, cocky bastard.

"Wanna place bets? I've been doing this for so many years I can name the top three right now."

Told you he was cocky.

"You've got a really big head, you know?"

"I've been told that by a few women," he conceded with a cheeky grin making me wish he'd walk backwards into a cowpie.

Of course he didn't. He stopped and gestured to the table.

"Place your bets."

"Yeah, what's it worth?"

He thought for a few seconds. "The loser has to interview Mr. Crowley."

That didn't sound too bad, so I knew there had to be a catch. "What's wrong with Mr. Crowley?"

"He's a spitter," Edward said with such seriousness I laughed.

"Ewww, gross."

"Yeah, don't stand too close." His following eyebrow wiggle made his expression look so smug I wanted to splat the imaginary cowpie in his face, never mind his feet.

"I haven't lost," I retaliated.

"Yet."

See, cocky bastard.

We both scribbled down our predictions, and I followed suit with Edward and folded the paper into a small square. Edward handed me his paper with a grin.

"No looking until later, okay?" He seemed quite serious about this so I nodded, paired my paper with his and placed them in my pants pocket.

"Good." He nodded and pulled the now crumpled festival program from his back pocket. After studying it he glanced at his watch before he declared it was pumpkin time.

He seemed eager to get to the pumpkin carving contest so, in case he had any insider information, I walked with him there, irritated once again by his high-fiving, extra smiley, adoring public. Hmmm, maybe these high-fives were some sort of manly secret code. I decided I'd have to watch Edward a little closer to find out. All in the name of research you understand.

The pumpkin carving contest was by far the biggest competition of the day. The adults' table had everything from traditional spooky pumpkins to ones carved into superheroes and others shaped like unicorns. The kids' table had many brightly painted pumpkins and more simply carved creations.

We also found the organizers of the festival here, admiring the entrants. In true annoying reporter style Edward pounced on them with an overwhelming amount of enthusiasm and started questioning them. I wondered why Mrs. Stanley looked so overwhelmed at being pounced on by Edward, he could pounce on me anytime. Well, anytime that we weren't rivals. Which we were now, I reminded myself.

So while Edward dealt with feisty Mrs. Stanley, I took a more subtle approach with Mr. Biers and kept my questions polite even though I was desperate to ask him about the death-trap parking lot.

Before long the guy dressed as a scarecrow reappeared on top of a hay bale to announce the winners to the assembled crowd.

During his polite preamble about all the valiant entrants I saw Edward wink at someone in the crowd. His face had lit up as he smiled wildly, reminding me what a flirt he is and why I needed to forget all about rolling half-naked in the autumn leaves with him. Or fully naked, I wouldn't be fussy about that one.

The wife of the ex-coach of the high school's soccer team won the adults' contest. Since Edward knew Coach Clapp, I was certain he would know her also. I'd have to stick really close to him during that interview. Damn!

The children's category winner was a cute little girl who looked to be around five or six years old. She squealed and jumped about three feet in the air, her blonde braids bouncing with excitement when her name was announced.

To my surprise Edward fist punched the air at the results. _Huh!_ Who knew he cared so much about the art of pumpkin carving? Or maybe he'd placed bets with some other chick on that, too?

Despite the black clouds that were looming overhead Edward rolled his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, showcasing amazing forearms that I certainly wasn't looking at, before clapping wildly and snapping photos with his posh camera as the girl was presented with her prize.

Once the little girl had collected her rosette and certificate she came running at full speed over to where Edward and I stood. I thought she was overly keen to have her picture taken and appear in the local paper but Edward lowered his camera and swung it round to his back as the girl rushed up and jumped as high as she could. Edward effortlessly lifted her into his arms, securing her with a bear hug to his chest before she leaned back in his arms to look at him.

"Uncle Edward, I wonned!" Her voice was giddy with excitement as she bobbed about in Edward's arms, making him oomph and grunt with her movements.

"Sure did, Bree. Well done, Sweetie." He stroked a length of her bright blonde hair out of her eyes as a woman bearing such a resemblance to the little girl she could only be her mother, approached and stood next to Edward. She was tall and blonde with eyes that matched Edward's in every way.

"Mama, I wonned and Uncle Edward will put me in the paper and I'll cut it out and keep it forever."

"Make sure you smile real good then," the woman told the over-excited girl as a tall guy walked up, grinning at the little girl as he slipped his arm around the woman's waist.

"I will." The girl gave a good demonstration of her best toothy smile before she turned serious.

"Uncle Edward, are you still coming to my party later?"

Edward pretended to think about this for a few seconds before bursting into the biggest smile I'd seen on his face today. That smile, coupled with the child in his arms, made my ovaries burst, too.

"Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world."

I knew it was just a flippant saying, but the tone of Edward's voice and the adoring way he looked at this little girl made his words sound totally genuine.

She grinned back in an equally adoring fashion before Edward placed her down and swung his camera back round to his chest. He knelt down to her height while telling her to smile for her newspaper shot.

"He's a natural with her," I heard the woman whisper as she stood next to me and watched the pair fondly. "Annoying as hell, as little brothers should be, but so sweet with his niece."

"Yeah, he's full of surprises today." I nodded, realizing I'd been staring at this new Edward in front of me. I could see the annoying side of Edward quite clearly but as I watched him goofing about with the girl to get a natural smile for the photo, I could see his sweet side, too.

With Bree's mom's consent I took a few photos of Bree and we both asked her a few basic questions about her pumpkin creation while she excitedly jumped from one foot to the other.

A few minutes later Edward stood with a crack of his knees and cupped his hand over the back screen of his camera to check he had a good shot. Bree, unfortunately for Edward, jumped up at the same time that he knelt back down, resulting in him receiving a rather strong impact to his nuts.

"Fu...fudge," he groaned, doubling over in pain as I tried not to laugh. "Dear God," he moaned under his breath as Bree watched wide eyed and confused. The guy with us bent over with laughter at Edward's pain as Edward growled out a mumbled version of a swear word in his direction.

Edward's sister, in-between her own amused sniggers, reassured Bree that her Uncle was fine but she didn't look convinced. Neither did Edward.

"Jeez, Bree, don't you want cousins someday?" he grumbled under his breath, making me picture cute little Edwards running around while an older Bree chased them.

"Huh?" Bree looked confused as she approached the man-child that Edward had become and waited until his wails died down.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Edward. Want me to make you laugh?"

Edward now, finally, seemed capable of standing upright, so he nodded at Bree.

"What did one leaf say to another?"

"I don't know."

"I'm falling for you!"

Edward smiled, straightened up fully and ruffled her hair.

"Good one, Bree."

Edward's sister smiled affectionately at her daughter before addressing her. "Bree, how about we go and grab a toffee apple? I think you've caused enough trouble here, Uncle Edward has to get back to work."

"It doesn't look like he's working. Daddy sits at a desk when he's working." Bree stated in the amazingly honest way kids do.

"Well, I am having a particularly fun day today…" Edward stated with a wink in my direction. "But tomorrow this will sure feel like work when I write up my article. I can't do it tonight because someone's having a party."

Bree grinned widely as she took her mother's hand and started walking away.

"Yeah, don't forget my presents!"

"Bree!" Her mom scolded lightly as Edward chuckled while watching all three of them walking away.

"She's a sweet kid," I conceded. He was a pain in the ass, albeit a cute ass, but his niece was kinda cool.

"Yeah," he agreed. "She gets it from me!"

I scoffed and elbowed him.

"Luckily she didn't inherit your big head."

I regretted the words as soon as I said them but thankfully Edward only waggled his eyebrows at me and remained silent.

We then talked to Coach Clapp's wife about her award winning pumpkin, while keeping half an eye on the darkening skies and swirling wind.

Before we were done Edward received some more high-fives from Coach Clapp. I'm pretty sure I would have been treated to tales of Edward's soccer glory but the rain that had been threatening for most of the afternoon finally signalled its appearance with a loud crack of thunder that made people shriek and run for cover.

The large raindrops splattered around us with such speed and ferocity I was temporarily stunned. After a few seconds Edward grabbed me by the hand and started running. I just about kept up with him as we passed the tent full of people cramming into the entrance and ran towards an old hay shelter on the edge of the field. The rain pelted my back as I bent over and tried to protect my camera and notes as I allowed myself to be led by Edward.

When we reached the relative dry shelter I finally looked up, wiping rain from my face as Edward ran his hands through his sodden hair. His eyes looked even brighter in the darkness that had descended and I couldn't help but stare into them until a second loud clap of thunder made me shriek and jump at its unexpectedness. Edward chuckled at me before raising his hand to my face. His thumb stroked across my cheek, leaving me rendered speechless at his soft, unexpected touch.

Gutsy, mouthy, Bella, wanted to ask him what the hell he was playing at, but startled, mushy, Bella wanted to tell her to shut the hell up because, Jesus, it felt good to be touched, by him.

His thumb stroked back and forth a few times before he removed it.

"Errr, mud." He held his thumb up, displaying the evidence, as I shook my head, told myself not to be so stupid, and tried to pick my heart up from the floor where it had fallen.

"Oh. Thanks." Of course I was muddy. As discussed earlier I appeared to attract the stuff. And it seemed that was all I was attracting right now.

He nodded but didn't say anything as we both listened to the now slowing rain. While he watched the raindrops landing in the quickly formed puddles, I looked at his white undershirt which was now almost sheer from the rain. It clung to his torso, kissing his skin in all the places I wanted to, making me pathetically jealous of a piece of clothing.

The next flash of lightning drew my gaze from his body where I unexpectedly found his piercing eyes. We remained silent until the third, quieter, crash of thunder followed over thirty seconds later.

"The storm's passing over," Edward whispered as I merely nodded.

We waited in silence for the next few minutes, listening to the increasing noise in the adjacent field as people emerged from their shelters and looked up at the skies.

"Wait here," Edward instructed and before I could object he jogged out into the now light rain and disappeared into the crowds.

I used the opportunity to put down my camera and papers. I saw two nearby hay bales that were placed opposite each other and occupied one, taking a few minutes to make additional notes about the day.

When Edward reappeared he was holding two disposable coffee cups, the cardboard kind with plastic sippy lids on top and, as I stood up, he handed me one.

"Spiced pumpkin soup. I hope you like it."

"It smells amazing. Thanks." I answered, slightly stunned by his thoughtfulness. I took a sip of the delicious soup and moaned as the taste of fall reminded me of childhoods carving pumpkins with my mom and raking the leaves in front of our house. I'd pile them up, knowing full well when I heard the police cruiser pull up my dad would race out and hug me before dropping me in the huge pile, leaving us both laughing hysterically.

Edward stood opposite me and cleared his throat bringing me back to the present and making me look at him.

"I thought we could both do with refuelling before we tackle the homemade pumpkin pie competition. Mrs. Delani is pretty forthright with her opinions, if her pie doesn't place in the top three. She usually makes for a good interview afterwards."

"Thanks for the tip." I raised my disposable cup in his direction as he nodded.

"Not that you need my help," he added. "I wasn't trying to suggest I knew best…"

"Edward, it's fine," I reassured him, gripping my cup with both hands for extra warmth. "You've been doing this a lot longer than I have."

"Yeah and look where it's gotten me," he scoffed, shaking his head as I wrinkled my forehead in confusion.

"Err, a reputation as the best reporter in the county," I pointed out making him sneer.

"Sure."

"It's true," I insisted, admiring the way his long fingers wrapped around his own cup.

"Even if it was, small time newspaper reporting isn't exactly what I was aiming for when I was captain of the soccer team and fighting for a scholarship to college."

My eyebrows shot up. I knew he'd had a promising soccer career ahead of him, but ended up studying journalism at the local college instead.

"So, why…"

"Several things coincided making things...difficult."

Huh. Thanks, that was now as clear as mud.

I sensed there was a lot Edward wasn't saying, so I tried a different approach.

"I have to say you've surprised me today," I told him seriously.

"With my good looks and quick wit?" he joked with amazing accuracy.

"I was going to say I'm surprised you don't seem to hate me," I answered quietly, not daring to look at his deep green eyes or his still rather see-through shirt.

"Hate you? Why would I hate you?"

"My dad arrested you. The police put you and your family through hell for something you didn't do…" I trailed off. That seemed to be reason enough to me.

"Did you ask your dad to arrest me?" Edward asked making me gawk at him.

"What? No!"

"Well, then we don't have a problem," he answered matter-of-factly.

"That isn't usually how small towns work," I pointed out as Edward took hold of my shoulder and bent his knees slightly to make me meet his eyes.

"It's how I work," he told me sincerely.

I nodded and processed his words for a few seconds before I spoke again. "So did that false arrest make it hard to get your college scholarship?" I asked outright.

Edward stood up straight, looking like he was trying to judge how much to say, or not to say.

When he did speak, he answered sadly with one, devastating word.

"Impossible."

Neither of us looked at each other, both distracting ourselves with our drinks.

"My dad...he felt really bad about that whole situation…"

"It's fine. I've moved on," Edward interrupted me, unsuccessfully keeping the bitterness out of his voice.

"It's okay to be mad," I spoke softly.

"Bella, really it's fine."

He sounded adamant, but I looked up at him doubtfully.

He gestured to the two hay bales, so we sat down opposite each other as he picked at the lid of his soup with his thumb, not making eye contact with me.

"Bella, I don't know how much you know about the guy I was back then but...well, Emmett and I ran in some dodgy circles for a while."

I knew Edward and Emmett McCarty were close friends, especially when Emmett began dating Edward's sister.

"We fell in with the wrong crowd. We were stupid and young and, I know that's no excuse, but Emmett took it too far that night. I wasn't even with him, but I made sure the police thought it was me. I made myself look guilty so I can't blame your dad for thinking I was."

"Why would you do that?"

"Bree," he answered simply. "Rose had just found out she was pregnant. I couldn't have my niece's dad locked up before she was even born. He'd have missed the birth and her first few months, time he'd never be able to get back."

Edward shrugged as I forgot all about my soup and listened intently to him.

"I knew if I deflected any suspicion from Em, the police were unlikely to find me guilty because there was no evidence that I did it, because I didn't."

"Wow, I...I had no idea."

He shrugged. "I know I shouldn't have 'perverted the course of justice' or whatever, but I couldn't see Emmett's and Rose's lives fall apart just as they needed to get it together for their baby."

"So Emmett is a law abiding citizen now?" I asked, trying to inject humor into my question.

"Yep." Edward announced proudly, sitting up straighter. "Never broken the law since that night, well he probably speeds now and then, and maybe jaywalks, but he's a good guy. He and Rose got married and Bree...she's amazing. She saved Emmett and me. We were headed down the wrong path; it scares me to think where we'd have ended up if it wasn't for her."

I nodded, trying to process everything Edward was saying.

He stood and walked toward the entrance of the shelter, surveying the festival which was now back to its usual hustle and bustle as the rain had completely stopped.

"I'm surprised you don't know all of this already, everyone in this town knows my business." He spoke with his back to me sounding slightly bitter about this, but I couldn't blame him. Small towns were ruthless for gossip, even if all this happened over five years ago.

I stood and walked to stand next to him. "My dad's false arrests weren't exactly dinnertime conversation. It was never mentioned at home and as I didn't really know you or move in your social circle, I guess I never knew the whole story."

"Well, now you do."

"So does everyone else and you're back to being the town's sweetheart and hero!"

Edward scoffed and shook his head, still looking out to the now blue skies.

"The rain has cleared up, we should see about that pie competition, I could eat dessert." He patted his flat stomach, making me look again at his almost see through t-shirt. Unfortunately, it was now drying out; maybe I'd have to sneak in a few extra peeks before it dried completely.

"Ok. Sure. But while we're confessing things I think you should know I'm onto you, Mr. Cullen," I stated, poking a finger at his chest as he looked at me with confusion and playfulness dancing on his handsome features.

"You are?"

"Yep." Shame I wasn't literally on him, but I grinned and nodded anyway because I was rather proud of the way I had discovered his sneakiness today. I was also glad we'd left the seriousness of our earlier conversation behind and were back to annoying each other.

"You're trying to knock me off my game," I stated.

"Game?" Edward's outright confusion was amusing.

"Ah-ha. I have game you know." I jutted my chin out defensively.

"I'm sure you do." He was now grinning widely. "Bella, I assure you I'm not trying to steal your game."

"That's exactly what a game stealer would say."

Edward outright laughed now. "Bella, I'm not trying to sabotage you! I'm a straightforward guy. I say things as I see them, I guess that's the reporter in me," he stated with a small shrug.

Jesus, he could be the reporter in me any time. Errr, I mean, "Ah-ha. Good to know."

Edward chuckled beside me. "When these articles come out on Monday, I want to beat you fair and square."

I rolled my eyes at him but he turned suddenly serious. "Will you read my article?"

"Hmmm," I answered with a shrug of fake nonchalance. "I'll try to fit it into my busy schedule."

"Good to know," he echoed my words.

We left the shelter and made our way around the rest of the festival, getting down to the business of actually interviewing people, taking photos and sniffing out any extra stories we could print.

We enjoyed the delights of several pumpkin pie tasters and the festival really picked up when the local country music singers took to the central stage. Their quirky songs about a rusty, red tractor and the love of their life (those were thankfully two separate songs) definitely lifted the mood after the earlier rainfall.

The afternoon passed quickly but I was cold and my clothes were still damp so I didn't want to hang around longer than I had to. Despite Edward's shirt drying out, he looked like he felt the same and after another hour or so we both agreed we had the material we needed for our articles.

As we left through the main entrance we saw Bree leaving, too. She was holding hands with her parents and being swung gently back and forth, giggling and laughing excitedly when she landed in the squelchy mud underfoot. She grinned widely when she spotted Edward and shouted over to him.

"Don't be late for my party, Uncle Edward. You needs to help me with the piñata."

"I won't be late, Bree." Edward shouted back with a wave to his sister and the other person holding Bree's hand who I now knew was Emmett.

Before we left Edward walked me to my car. I didn't know if he was trying to help me avoid any broken limbs in the freshly rained on mud bog that was the parking lot, or if he wanted to be there to laugh at me if I finally fell.

Thankfully, with his arm for support I made it to my car and Edward held my door open as I got in, leaning in afterwards to speak to me.

"Bella, about earlier, I don't want you to think I hate your dad. I should thank him really. He gave Emmett and me the warning we needed to sort out our lives."

"Thanks. He'd like to hear that from you. Maybe let him know if you see him anytime soon."

"Maybe I will," Edward answered with a nod and a small grin.

"I'll see you around, Swan."

"Bye, Cullen." With that he closed my car door for me and I immediately missed his company.

ooooooooOOOOOOOOoooooooo

Monday.

Unlike most of the human race I liked Mondays. It was a slow news day, and it was the day our paper hit the newsstands, both real and virtual.

I had today off as I'd worked the weekend and as a result I didn't plan on doing much. I'd already gone to the local shop for a copy, or twelve, of the paper I was featured in and I'd even sprung for a copy of Edward's article, eager to see what he'd made of the day.

I was now back in the warmth of my apartment with my cozy, fluffy, socks adorning my feet, my favorite baggy sweater keeping me warm and my gran's throw covering me on my ratty sofa. I was hugging a particularly nice mug of hot chocolate, complete with marshmallows and listening to the rain hitting my window panes.

I shook out the newspaper and turned to my article. I knew full well what it said. I'd written it and re-written it; read it and re-read it so many times I was sure I'd spot any sneaky editing that took place between me submitting it and Alec approving it.

Once I'd read my article and was happy it had been printed almost verbatim, I picked up Edward's paper.

They were running with a different story on the front page which was likely to attract more readers than our offering regarding the ever so exciting new tree planting program that was to be rolled out along the highway.

I turned to page five to see Edward's double spread, complete with color pictures. Damn him. There was his smug (and rather beautiful) professional byline shot, staring out at me from among the pictures of winning pies and pumpkins.

The article was funny, witty and insightful, everything I anticipated from Edward, until I reached the last few paragraphs because then he went off on a tangent I wasn't expecting.

 _Many loyal readers and I know there are a fair few in Forks, will remember my father was Chief Editor of this paper for over two decades. As a boy I clearly remember him returning home, kissing my mother on the cheek and placing his Sony recorder on the telephone table in the hall. He loved that recorder and believed good tools were half the secret to his success._

 _I think you'll agree his ability, enthusiasm and knowledge are all he needed to succeed but at Saturday's festival I met someone who reminded me why I wanted to follow in his footsteps, why, along with soccer, being a reporter is what I wanted to do with my life. Why I would sneak up to the telephone table and hold that recorder, the one I was forbidden from touching, just to feel its weight, desperate to listen to all the tales it contained._

 _This person had the very same recorder, but more importantly she also had his enthusiasm and ability to make an amazing reporter. I feel I should have told her this, and I didn't._

 _So, in honor of the past, simpler life this recorder represents l would like to extend an invitation to her to allow me to take her to dinner. I didn't want to do this via Facebook or some equally impersonal medium such as text or email so, Bella, please read my scrappy predictions for the vegetable contest and instead you will see where I will be waiting tonight. I sincerely hope you will join me for what I hope is the first of many dates._

 _Readers, I will keep you updated. Or not. Because under Bella's shyness she's really ballsy and may well castrate me for this little stunt. If I'm speaking in a higher pitch next time I see you this romantic gesture didn't work_.

The article was followed by his professional tagline: _Edward Cullen reports for Clallam county and welcomes your comments at_ _..._

Hmm, now I had his email address. This could prove interesting.

I saved that little snippet of information for later as I excitedly jumped up off the sofa, almost spilling my hot chocolate as I stood in my living room spinning in circles while I tried to think. What had I done with those pieces of paper? I'd completely forgotten about them so they must still be in the back pocket of the pants I was wearing that day.

My stomach dropped, they had been caked in mud and obviously washed since then. I ran to my dresser, hoping I'd emptied my pockets before loading the washer. My dresser was a mess, scattered with all sorts of items including my credentials badge, some of those little disposable spoons I'd used to taste the various soups that were judged and...yes! Two small squares of paper.

I unfolded one and saw, in Edward's neat scrawl…

 _Gutoso Italia, Monday night at 8pm x_

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help.** **Any mistakes are my own.**

 **Please let me know your thoughts on this story, I absolutely love readers reviews. X**


	2. Chapter 2-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind.** **I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

I stood in front of my full length mirror and pulled at my skirt, hoping that would somehow make it longer. When it, unsurprisingly, didn't, I thought again that maybe it was a bit too short. Should I phone my bestie, Angela, and ask her opinion? Hmm, maybe not. That conversation would involve admitting to her that I was going on a date with Edward Cullen.

How was _I_ going on a date with Edward Cullen? I didn't like him, remember? And he didn't like me. Except maybe he did? This whole situation was very confusing!

I sighed and sunk down on my bed. My initial excitement over the date invitation was now becoming overshadowed by my own self-doubt.

What if this was a trick? What if it was payback for my family's actions five years earlier?

In all honesty I didn't believe it was, but that time in high school with Alex was hard to forget. He'd asked me out only to leave me waiting outside the cinema and then drove past, leaning out of his buddy's car and shouting about how he'd gotten revenge on the cop who caught him buying beer when he was underage.

I shook my head to clear my overanalyzing thoughts and stood up, looking in the mirror again. I had good legs; I might as well show them off, right?

Besides, my legs were the least of my worries; I had bigger battles right now. I had to worry about my feet.

I stared at my one and only pair of heels peeking out at me from inside my open wardrobe. I wasn't sure I could be trusted in heels. As Edward had already witnessed, I was far too unsteady on my feet under normal circumstances, let alone when I had less surface area to walk on.

A quick glance at my phone told me I'd be late if I didn't hurry up, so after one last swipe of lipstick I slipped my feet into the heels and headed for my car.

Looking into the restaurant as I approached, I could see plenty of people sitting at well-lit tables. Good. I couldn't stand those dingy restaurants where you couldn't read the menu let alone see the person across the table from you. Or maybe I just needed to get my eyes tested again; I was borderline far-sighted last time. Oh well, I could see Edward's good looks pretty damn well from here so that was good enough for me.

As I was pondering my visual health I watched him, sitting alone, wiping his palms down the thighs of his pants and looking nervous. I smiled to myself, he looked pretty cute. His hair was ruffled and his white shirt was rolled up at the sleeves, showcasing his forearms and the silver wristwatch he was now checking.

It was refreshing to see a less cocky side of him. To see a guy slightly unsure of himself as he waited. I hadn't contacted him to say I'd be coming tonight so I guess he was worried I'd be a no-show.

Thankfully, he wasn't all suited up. He looked casual in a button down shirt and dark pants which was a relief because if he was dressed up I'd have felt very underdressed. Not that I'd mind being underdressed around him, he could undress me any day, just not in a restaurant, well, not on our first date anyway.

Thinking about the words _first date_ again brought my nerves rushing back to the pit of my stomach where they tangled into a ball of nervous energy. I shook it off, clip-clopped my way to the door of the restaurant, took a deep breath and entered.

A bell tinkled as I opened the door further and Edward looked up, his handsome face lighting up with a huge grin when he spotted me.

He rose from his chair as I approached the front desk. I watched, smiling at him as we made eye contact and he walked closer to me.

"Ma'am. Ma'am?"

"Sorry?" I reluctantly turned to the suited waiter who was looking at me like he'd asked me a question several times and was eagerly awaiting my reply. Maybe he had? Maybe I should worry about my hearing more than my vision? Or maybe I should just get an all over body check. Maybe Edward could do that for me? For medical reasons of course.

I felt my cheeks redden at my inner thoughts as the waiter spoke again.

"Do you have a reservation?"

"She's with me, Lucas," Edward answered smoothly, he'd reached us and was now patting the waiter's shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"Oh, no problem, enjoy your evening, Mr. Cullen." The waiter smiled at Edward as I stepped past him. Of course Edward knew everyone here. Town hero, remember?

We walked back to the table where he pulled my chair out for me. I thanked him with a nod as I removed my coat. Immediately his gaze washed over me, taking in my legs in my possibly too short skirt. I then saw his eyebrows rise slightly at the sight of my heels. Either he really liked them, or he was wondering how long it would be until I'd fall over. Whichever it was, I was feeling rather self-conscious.

I wasn't very good with the rules of etiquette at fancy restaurants. Growing up, we'd only ever eaten out for special occasions. Birthdays, my graduation and my dad's retirement are the only times I remembered, and as an adult I hadn't been asked on too many dates that didn't involve a beer keg and a flat-bed truck. I mean, what should I do with my coat? Was there a coat check here?

When I saw that Edward's jacket was on the back of his chair, I did the same with mine, feeling relieved I'd negotiated that etiquette minefield. That was until I looked at the table and saw more cutlery than I owned in my one-bed apartment. What was it that posh woman said to Jack in Titanic? Start from the outside and work your way in. Hmmm, Titanic didn't work out so well for him. I hoped my date tonight was more successful than Jack's voyage.

"Hi." Once we were seated opposite each other, Edward leaned forward and caught my eye.

"Hi," I replied. His grin was soft and heartwarming and I could see the relief floating in his gaze.

"Thanks for coming; I wasn't sure you'd show." His honesty was refreshing.

"I appreciate the inventive way that you asked me here. I mean, how could I refuse such an original and gutsy move?"

For once Edward looked rattled rather than his usual cocky self. "I just wanted some time to sit and talk to you properly when we weren't surrounded by half the town and didn't have straw poking through our pants."

I laughed, remembering the hay bales we sat on during the thunderstorm.

"So you mentioned it to the whole county via the newspaper?"

"Sorry. Did I embarrass you?"

"No," I shook my head. "You have nothing to apologize for. It was a ballsy move that must have taken a lot of courage." I replied honestly, hoping he'd catch the sincerity in my voice.

He nodded and handed me a menu. "I'm just glad it worked. Emmett would never have stopped ripping the hell out of me if I'd done all that and didn't even get a date at the end of it."

"I'm glad I could save you from that fate," I joked.

"Me too," he replied.

An approaching waiter took our drink orders and placed a basket of breadsticks and olives down on the table, giving me time to catch my breath and calm my nerves.

"Monday is an odd night for a date, isn't it?" I asked once the waiter had left.

"I couldn't wait until Saturday," he stated sounding very serious.

"Oh." That was promising for my whole hoping-he'll-fall-madly-in-love-with-me plan.

"And besides, Monday nights they have a half-price menu."

I started to nod; I knew there had to be a catch.

"I'm kidding!" he added, relief washing over me as he closed his menu and sat back in his chair. "The truth is I figured you'd have today off work, having worked the weekend, and I didn't want to give you time to overthink things and stand me up."

I gawked at him.

"Have you ever been stood up before?"

"Well… no, but you're… different from other women. I can't seem to read you; I don't know what you're thinking or what you're going to say next." He ran his hands over the crisp white tablecloth as he spoke.

I looked at his freshly shaven jaw as well as his straight, white teeth, and forehead, which was slightly wrinkled in confusion as he waited for me to speak. I took in his Adam's apple and the chest hair poking out of his shirt. Jesus! I was so glad he couldn't tell what I was thinking right now because it would involve him removing his clothes and doing things that were highly unsuitable for a posh restaurant or a first date.

I looked at his now closed menu and closed my own. "So I'm guessing you've eaten here before? Can you recommend anything on the menu?"

"I've only been here with family. I know you seem to think I have a harem of girls but really, I haven't dated all that much."

I scoffed rather loudly, making an elderly man with far too much hair sprouting out of his ears look over and give me a harsh glare.

When I looked back to Edward he was smiling at me.

"I'm surprised he could hear me with all that bushy ear hair," I muttered, only aware I'd said it loud enough for Edward to hear when he started laughing loudly.

"Sorry. Where were we? Oh, your harem of girls. I've witnessed girls practically falling over themselves to get to you."

"The only girl falling over me is you, Bella."

I looked at him in shock, was I that transparent? Could he tell how much I desperately wanted to undo his shirt buttons and see exactly what was underneath? I picked up a few black olives, munching them slowly as I thought about that little visual for a few seconds too long.

"At the festival," Edward clarified, a cocky smirk lighting up his features, making him look playful and happy. "You'd have gone ass first into that mud if it wasn't for me," he was almost laughing at the memory and his smile made me laugh myself.

"Yes, well… let's forget about that shall we?" I answered, embarrassed as I held up my menu and buried my face in the large folder.

"I probably shouldn't order more carbs but it's all pizza and pasta," I muttered to myself as I turned the page, away from the pizza section. Next thing I knew my menu was being pulled down, away from my face as Edward looked at me confused.

"Whoa."

Now he just looked mad again, had I muttered something about Mr. Hairy Ears again? I really had no filter.

"Bella…" he continued. "Eat all the carbs you want, I sure will. I'm not judging you. You have _nothing_ to worry about in that department."

"Edward, I'm not blind, I know full well you're used to girls who post Instagram pics with the hashtags of _thigh-gap_ and _gym-selfie_."

He laughed, grinned at me and shook his head.

"You really don't see yourself clearly," he grumbled before taking a bite of his breadstick.

Hmmm, maybe I need those glasses after all?

"Why on earth would you think that?" Edward asked, pointing the rest of his bread stick in my direction.

"Because…" Wasn't it obvious?

Apparently not because Edward raised his eyebrows indicating for me to continue.

"Because...you're, you know… you're just… you're quite attractive," I uttered as he laughed.

"Quite attractive? I'll take that coming from you, besides, have you looked in a mirror recently?"

"Should I? Do I have something between my teeth?" Oh God, of course I had some green herb stuck in my teeth. Or worse, some olive blacking out a whole front tooth, making me look like a hillbilly. I reached for my hand bag but Edward rested his hand on mine, stilled my movements and suppressed a laugh as he spoke.

"Relax. Your teeth are beautiful, just like the rest of you."

"Oh." I must have spoken some of my ramblings out loud. I contemplated looking over my shoulder to check he wasn't talking to someone else but his expression was so sincere I almost believed him.

Especially when his hand remained firmly on top of mine.

"Thanks," I muttered, filling my mouth with more olives so I didn't have to speak for a minute.

Edward, sadly, removed his hand from mine when the waiter returned to take our food order.

I'd looked over the pizza choices but there were words like Matsutake mushrooms and Ossobuco topping and other equally confusing and intriguing ingredients. What the hell was on these pizzas? Where was a good old Margarita or Chicken Supreme?

Edward told me he'd eaten an awesome Margarita Bolognaise before so he ordered one of those and a seafood pizza, suggesting we each get different varieties and share the two.

Pizza and Edward seemed like the perfect combination so I forgot all about my no carbs madness and eagerly agreed.

"So," I started once the waiter had left us alone again. "How did you clear that article with your boss? My boss, Alec, would have a fit if I strayed from the story at hand. I have to 'keep focused' and 'remember the target audience'," I quoted as Edward laughed.

With a simple shrug he replied. "My dad was the Chief Editor at the paper for twenty-two years. I've only ever used that information to pull strings twice in my whole career, and that was one of them."

Huh, it must have been important to him then.

"When was the other time?" I asked as he picked up an olive and popped it in his perfectly perfect mouth.

"When I asked to remain in Forks. They wanted me closer to HQ but I assured them I could perform effective reporting from here, making the necessary visits around the county when needed."

"And they let you?"

He took a sip of his drink as he nodded.

"What's keeping you in Forks?" I asked.

"I wanted to stay close to my family and I coach the high school's soccer team. I couldn't leave them; they'd get relegated straight away!" He joked. I guess he had every reason to be cocky about his soccer talents, but I wasn't sure I was ready to talk about his past again. I didn't want the conversation to turn too serious so I resolved to leave that topic and see if he broached it himself.

He didn't.

Instead, we talked about our jobs, the colleagues we both knew, the best and worst stories we'd reported on and the crazy town folk who knew everyone's business.

Once our food arrived we shared the two pizzas with Edward eating an impressive five slices to my three. Not that it would do him any harm, I'm sure he'd run it off on the soccer field in no time.

Edward licked his fingers as he finished his last bite, giving me an eyebrow wiggle when he caught me staring at his actions.

"So," I shook my head and finished the last of my drink before carrying on. "How was Bree's party?"

His face lit up as he pushed his now empty plate into the middle of the table and sat back with a contented sigh.

"Great. She's a little firecracker; Emmett's gonna have his hands full when she's older!" he joked.

"Yeah, she seemed very… spirited," I replied.

"Hah! Yeah. I spent most of the evening explaining the difference between a girl who's a friend and a girlfriend," he answered, making my eyebrows rise.

"She saw us together and seems pretty keen for Uncle Edward to have a date."

"Oh, yeah?" I tried to keep a straight face as I imagined Edward talking his way out of that one.

"Yep. She eagerly announced to my parents that Uncle Edward should date the pretty lady at the fete. She made it into a little rhyme and everything!" I could tell Edward was trying to sound annoyed but he was smiling at the memory despite himself.

"I had to distract her with a piñata. The damn thing wouldn't hang anywhere. Emmett and I ended up screwing it to her playhouse roof," he continued while my mind was still processing the fact that I'd been called a pretty girl (this was great and very flattering) and Edward's whole family knew about me (not so great or flattering).

When I tuned back into what he was saying I stumbled, trying to carry on the conversation from what little I'd heard of his latest sentence.

"Oh, are you handy at screwing then?" I froze, coughed, and rephrased my question "I mean, with a screwdriver. I mean, are you handy with a screwdriver?"

Oh God! Edward was now grinning at me as I felt my cheeks redden even more than usual.

"Yeah, I am. Why? Do you need help in that department?" He was trying to keep a straight face himself but he was looking awfully smug so I tried to play him at his own game.

"As a matter of fact, yes I do."

"Oh yeah?" He sat forward in his chair and tented his fingers. "What can I help you with?"

"Well…" I answered seriously, "I need a shelf fixed in my kitchen, I'm sure it's gonna fall down on my head any day now. I probably could do that myself, I'm quite good at screwing, too, but also my kitchen tap isn't right and I don't know how to fix that. Water sprays in all directions if I turn it on too hard, making me get very wet."

Edward spluttered into the remains of his drink as I placed emphasis on the words _turn on, hard_ and _wet_. "Oh, okay…I can help you with that, no problem."

At that point we were both saved from any further innuendos as the waiter passed by and Edward asked him for the bill.

"I thought we'd skip dessert?" he asked.

My stomach dropped. That was it, I'd blown my one chance with Mr. Smug Pants. Now I'd be back to takeaway meals for one and leftovers my mom dropped off in my freezer while I was at work. Damn, I knew I'd talked about screwing too much!

"Sure," I choked out, trying to sound normal.

The waiter returned quickly, angling for a good tip I think, and slipped the bill folder on the table.

Edward reached into his pants pocket. "It's on me, Bella." He spoke in an authoritative tone, shushing me immediately when I started to object.

"Please." He added. "Placate me and help me feel manly, okay?"

I could think of many, many ways I could help him feel manly. Do you think he'd like a list?

Instead I nodded, thanked him, and stood up.

As I reached for my coat he too stood up and walked to my side of the table, reaching around me for my coat and holding it open.

Such a gentleman. Even when he's trying to dump me. Wait! Can you even be dumped on a first date? Were we even dating?

"Relax." He whispered in my ear as he leaned into me while I shrugged my coat on.

"I wanted to skip dessert because I know the best ice cream parlor about five minutes' walk from here." He leaned back and grinned. "Are you up for it?"

"Absolutely," I replied, unable and unwilling to hide my own happiness. Inside I did a happy dance. But only on the inside because Edward really would dump me if he saw me dance in public. I was a much better internal dancer than a physical dancer.

"Do you think you can make it there in one piece?" Edward's gaze travelled down my legs to my high heels.

"If we go slowly," I answered with all the confidence I could muster.

"No problem. I'm in no rush to end the night."

Once the bill was paid we walked along the cobbled sidewalk in silence for a few minutes until I inevitably stumbled on the uneven surface.

Edward reached out and steadied me as I placed my hand in the crook of his arm.

"I'll just keep my hand here, you know, for support," I announced as Edward grinned.

"Sure. I think that's a good idea."

We walked further in silence until he spoke again, sounding more hesitant this time.

"Sorry if the restaurant was a bit stuffy. With hindsight you seem like more of a picnic and beach kind of girl. I mean that as a compliment. It's nice to meet a woman who doesn't worry how many stars a restaurant has or whether they display the calorie count on the menu."

I tried to take what he said as a compliment. I knew the type of woman he meant and I was pretty sure Edward was used to dating women who knew what foie gras was and loved caviar and smelly cheese.

He was right, though, because I did not enjoy spreading food that smelled like dirty socks on my crackers. Nor did I enjoy crackers, really. They tasted too much like cardboard.

"It wasn't stuffy," I assured him with a small squeeze to his arm. "I'm just not used to dating guys who make their own money and have moved out of their parents' home!" I joked.

"Slim pickings in this town, huh?" He grinned at me. "You'll have to date the ex-con now."

"You were never convicted." I doubt he needed reminding of this but in my eyes he wasn't a con, ex or not, and I wanted him to know that.

"Tell that to the panel on the Seattle athletic scholarship committee," he responded bitterly. "Sorry," he added mere seconds later.

His body stiffened as his free hand ran down his face in a nervous gesture.

He shook his head as if clearing his thoughts as we turned a corner and he pointed to a small cafe which was open, serving ice cream and drinks through a hatch in the wall. It reminded me of Mr. White's ice cream van which used to drive down our street all summer long when I was growing up, tinkling its little tune.

Once we'd purchased our ice-creams (chocolate for me, coffee for Edward) we walked along the narrow street, back in the direction of our parked cars.

My heels clicked loudly but the silence was more comfortable this time as we were both licking our desserts. Edward's arm was slung casually over my shoulder but there was nothing casual about the resulting butterflies in my stomach.

I made a point to take time out from my chocolatey goodness to appreciate the feel of his body, strong and warm next to mine. It felt so good to be close to him. He smelled great, like oak and sandalwood and…home.

"So, you didn't fancy following your dad into the police force?" Edward asked, breaking the silence and surprising me with his serious question.

My footing stumbled at Edward's mention of my dad, the guy who had helped ruin his soccer dreams and big time college hopes.

If Edward noticed he didn't say anything, he just licked his ice-cream in a way that made me want him to lick my parts.

I shook my head slightly, well aware he was waiting patiently for my answer.

"Err, no. My dad never wanted me to follow in his footsteps and I couldn't do that to my loved ones. I know what it's like waiting for him to return from a shift, hoping like hell that he will return…"

Edward nodded without saying anything so I continued.

"Besides," I shrugged, "being a reporter is similar. I need to be aware of what's going on in our town, get to the truth, and record the details; that sort of thing."

"Yeah, I guess so, I'd never thought of it like that before."

Sadly, his ice cream was now finished and I knew we were nearly back at our cars.

We slowed our pace as we approached my parked car.

I fumbled in my handbag for my car keys, trying to hide the immature but really cute Mickey Mouse key ring I'd had since I was a teenager. However, when I finally made eye contact with Edward I realized he wasn't looking at my keys at all.

He was looking at me.

Only me.

He was looking at me like he was angry. Maybe he had clocked Mickey and he really wasn't a fan?

Edward then wet his lips before he started to speak. Thankfully though he didn't say much, I don't think he did anyway, but I couldn't be sure because I was still processing the way his tongue darted out and wet his lips.

My stomach rolled in a delicious wave of butterflies and tension as I continued to stare at his lips.

"I… Bella… it's been…" He paused and scrubbed a hand down his face. "Fuck it," he muttered before his lips descended on mine.

I was so shocked I, of course, stumbled back against my car.

Edward's body willingly followed mine until I was sandwiched between cool metal and hot flesh. His kiss started off quite soft but grew, along with his moans, until he was driving me crazy with need.

His lips were soft and warm, making my stomach flip flop with every stroke of his tongue.

My hands involuntarily found his hair and I stroked through the short, soft strands, a move that seemed to spur him on even further. He kissed me harder, deeper, more frantically, as one of his hands held the side of my face and the other reached around to my ass.

Oh, God, I was in heaven. Edward's taught body was touching mine at every point possible. I didn't know where I stopped and he started.

One of my hands left his hair and held his jaw; feeling the vibration of his moan under my fingertips and feeling his hand squeeze my ass, bringing my body even closer to his.

Another second later, he withdrew sharply and suddenly, taking a step back and scrubbing his hand down his face. "We need… _I_ need to stop," he whispered as he jammed his hands in his pockets, as if he was trying to hold himself back.

"Really?" I squeaked out. "But it was so good!" I told him before I clapped my hands over my mouth in horror at my lack of brain filter. It was too late, though; Edward was already looking at me and chuckling despite himself.

"Exactly! That's the problem." He looked down to the ground sheepishly before taking a deep breath and looking up at me. "Oh, God, Bella, I've wanted to do that all night," he confessed as I remained speechless.

"So we should… we should do that all night…"

"But I have to walk back to my car soon," he explained with a grin.

"Yeah?" I queried, not understanding his point. Was he on a tight schedule? Because, trust me, this wouldn't take long.

"Walking there will be quite… _hard_ … at the moment." He spoke slowly as my eyebrows rose.

"Oh? Oh! Really?" I didn't dare to look down. I was already convinced Mr. Smug Pants had a lot to be smug about and I wasn't sure I was ready to meet mini Smug Pants, here on the sidewalk. With my now messy hair.

"Sorry," I offered.

Edward held my face with both his hands and looked into my eyes. "Don't ever apologize for being you."

I placed my open palms on his chest as he spoke.

"I've had a lovely evening. Thank you."

"Do I get a goodnight kiss?" I asked, mustering all my bravado because, you know, those kisses were worth losing a bit of dignity over.

"No." He seemed adamant about this.

"No?"

"Nope." Edward shook his head as he growled out my name. "Bella… the next time I kiss you we'll be all alone, and it won't be to say goodbye, it will just be the start of things."

I took in a deep breath, swallowed and nodded. Oh, Jesus, my stomach was aching at just the thought of that happening.

"Okay." I whispered.

"Okay." He repeated with a nod of his own as he took my hand, and gave it a long squeeze before letting it go.

He turned and started to walk away before looking over his shoulder at me. "I'll call you," he told me before turning away fully. "Soon," he added, not turning back to see the ridiculously big grin on my face.

 **A/N:** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help.** **Any mistakes are my own.**


	3. Chapter 3-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Following my almighty good kiss with Edward, I waited for his promised phone call.

And waited.

And waited.

Okay, so in reality it has only been forty-one hours and twelve minutes since that kiss but it was so good that I was counting the minutes until we could have a repeat performance.

Every time I left my cubicle at work I took my phone with me. Luckily, in my job I could be legitimately using it for work. But today, I also left it off silent mode and had taken to staring at it frequently in attempts to encourage it to ring.

I knew I was turning into a crazy person but Edward had sounded so genuine when he told me he'd call me. Soon.

Perhaps I wasn't the best judge of character, or perhaps my version of soon was different than Edward's, either way, it was now lunch time and I was about to lock my computer and head outside in an attempt to let the cool autumn air, or fucking freezing air as it was in reality, clear my mind.

Just before I left, my computer flashed up an email. I contemplated leaving it, assuming it was work but when I looked at my screen, I saw it was from Edward Cullen at the Clallum County Chronicle.

I may have squealed a little. Or a lot. Or a lottle.

I wanted to savor this moment of having an email from him to read but instead my excitement got the better of me and I double clicked it open immediately.

From: Edward Cullen  
To: Isabella Swan  
Date: 12:34 20th October 2016  
Subject: Hi, from the county's best reporter!

 _Hey! So I had to visit our rival website to find your email. Don't tell my boss! It's the first and last time I'll boost your click count and web traffic stats!  
_  
Hmmm, how did Edward make surfing the internet sound dirty? Or maybe it was only me that thought of all the alternate ways he could boost my click count?

I read and re-read his email several times; probably a few too many times because before I could reply another email from Edward appeared in my inbox above his first.

From: Edward Cullen  
To: Isabella Swan  
Date: 12:36 20th October 2016  
Subject: It's the county's best reporter again!

 _So, I've been thinking...computers really should get with the times and have a little emoji keyboard. I need to inject a sheepish smiley face right about now.  
_  
I hit reply instantly this time.

From: Isabella Swan  
To: Edward Cullen  
Date: 12:38 20th October 2016  
Subject: Hi from the Fork's best reporter!

 _Even emojis don't have a sorry-I-didn't-call-you-when-I-said-I-would face.  
_  
His reply was immediate.

From: Edward Cullen  
To: Isabella Swan  
Date: 12:40 20th October 2016  
Subject: Well...

 _I can explain…_

From: Isabella Swan  
To: Edward Cullen  
Date: 12:41 20th October 2016  
Subject: Go ahead

 _Really? Let me guess. You had a strep infection and lost your voice. No? You have such bad breath you can't speak, even on the phone? (Even though I know that's not true. Even after a garlic pizza your breath was more than passable). So maybe you dropped your phone in your toilet? (Don't laugh, that's a real thing. Apparently. Not that I'd know…). Am I close?  
_  
From: Edward Cullen  
To: Isabella Swan  
Date: 12:42 20th October 2016  
Subject: Nope. You're not close.

 _I don't have your phone number.  
_

From: Isabella Swan  
To: Edward Cullen  
Date: 12:44 20th October 2016  
Subject: Oh.

 _Yeah. That's quite a good excuse for not calling. Now I know what you mean about needing the sheepish face emoji._

I finished the email including my phone number and one minute twenty three seconds later he called me.

We were both at work so couldn't talk too freely but we arranged another date. I gave him my address, and he said he'd pick me up at 7pm in a couple of nights time. Considering my only prior commitment was my dad's promise to fix my leaky kitchen tap one night this week, I was quite flexible. Then again, I'd always be flexible around Edward. _There go those dirty thoughts again._

That's how I found myself pacing up and down my hallway while I waited for him to knock on the door a few nights later. I'd dressed casually, no more heels for me for a while. I'd fallen over a few too many times in front of Edward; I wanted to remain upright tonight. Although, on second thoughts I could be persuaded to lie down with him. Or next to him. Or on top of him. _OMG! Isabella Marie, STOP IT!_

While I was busy telling myself off for pondering the various ways in which I could get horizontal with Edward, I heard a knock at my door.

I breathed in a deep breath before opening it and taking in the sight of him. He was wearing worn work boots, dark denim jeans and a checked shirt, with the top few buttons undone. Oh, damn. He looked so good my stomach ached as I ran my eyes over his stubbled jaw and finally met his dark green eyes.

"Hi." He leaned forward and brushed his lips over my cheek while I tried to gather myself.

"Hi. Hello. Um...come in…" I offered, holding the door wider open.

The last time I'd seen him I was still finding it hard to believe that I was even on a date with Edward Cullen. Given our past it was hard for me to comprehend that he was actually interested in me. However, after our first kiss I was starting to understand that he was genuine and there was a chance he really liked me. I needed to get over my insecurities and trust that he was choosing to spend his time with me because he wanted to. Because he liked me.

While I was studying him and giving myself a little pep talk, multitasking like a pro, he stepped into my hallway and closed the door behind himself.

It was then that I noticed the tool box Edward was carrying. For once this wasn't a metaphor; he was actually carrying a slightly rusty, heavy looking tool box. In his other hand was a brown paper bag which held something that smelled amazing.

"I might be crazy and you might be expecting some grand date but I brought food," Edward held up the bag as evidence before continuing. "And I thought we could stay in. I could fix your tap and we could chat. It would be nice to get to know each other better."

I gazed at him for a second before smiling widely. "That sounds perfect." Because it really did.

Edward shucked his boots, settled his real, not metaphorical, tool box down and held up the take out bag. "Thai, I hope you like it?"

I'd eaten Bolognese on top of a pizza for this man, I'm sure he could persuade me to eat anything.

Anything.

 _Oh, God, Bella. You just can't help yourself from letting your thoughts go straight to the gutter, can you?_

I nodded and took the bag from him, turning and heading for the kitchen.

"So, you're serious about the screwing?" I joked. When he didn't reply, I turned round and caught him staring at my ass. _Sweet!_

"Huh? Sorry." He knew he'd been caught and grinned at me, giving me a preview of how that sheepish emoji would look. We reached my tiny kitchen about three steps later, my apartment wasn't much bigger than a shoebox, and I fetched the plates, cutlery and drinks while Edward started to serve the food.

"Screwing? Yeah, I'm serious about that." He finished off his innuendo with a heart melting wink. _He did NOT just go there!_ "I know you said you can fix the shelf yourself…" he continued while I picked myself up from the melted puddle I'd formed on the floor.

"I can, but I haven't," I interjected. "I'm a busy girl." I finished with a shrug while Edward licked a little sauce off his fingers. The glint in his eye told me he knew exactly what he was doing. _Jesus, he was trying to kill me and the evening had barely started._

After regaining my composure we set the food and cutlery down on my tiny dining room table, our knees almost knocking together underneath the table when we sat down. I briefly wished other parts of us could knock together above the table but that thought was wiped from my mind when he spoke again.

"Busy with other dates?"

I gawked at him, my fork pausing halfway to my mouth, and my eyes wide as I looked straight at him to see how serious he was.

"Sorry. That was my rather indiscreet way of asking if...you know, if you're...if we're…"

"You're asking if I have a line of men out the door? Did you see any on your way in?"

"No," he laughed, "but I'm surprised there isn't."

I shook my head at his words but, due to my previous pep talk, decided to take them as the compliment he intended. "I'm not interested in anyone else, Edward."

"Me either," he stated calmly as I grinned and nodded at him.

"Good."

"Good."

When I finally took my first taste of the food he'd brought with him, I moaned, a bit too loudly judging by Edward's amused look.

"Sorry, but this is _so_ good." I pointed my fork at the food before taking a sip of my drink.

"I know, right? A few weeks back I wrote an article about this new restaurant in town. The owners were so pleased with the piece they promised me the best takeout I'd ever had. I waited long enough that their offer couldn't be considered a bribe then, tonight; I finally took them up on their offer."

I nodded. I was pleased Edward had chosen to share this food with me, but I was even more pleased that he'd kept his integrity intact.

He went on to ask me about my latest article, the proposed airport expansion, and then he entertained me with the many email reactions he'd received from his article about the Fall festival. Apparently many regular readers were demanding an update on his love life since he so publicly asked me on a date.

"Oh, jeez. Have fun with that!" I joked.

He shrugged. "It's not all bad. Mrs. Banner's offered to bake our wedding cake."

I spluttered over my food, gawking at the casual way Edward had delivered that information.

"Umm...seriously?"

His face split into an amazing smile. "Yeah, and I don't think she was joking either."

I swallowed the last of my food around the lump in my throat. "Good to know!"

That seemed to be our cue to set about clearing up as by now we'd both finished eating. I cleared away our plates, Edward fetched his toolbox and in no time he'd fixed the wobbly shelf, thankfully removing the threat of death by a falling saucepan from my kitchen.

I turned away from him as I loaded the dishwasher, well aware I was giving him a good view of my ass but while my back was turned, he must have reached for the faulty tap.

"Edward, don't!" I shouted when I realized what he was doing.

It was too late.

Cold water gushed out in a vicious stream, hitting him square in the chest and making him stumble backwards to get his footing.

"Fuck!" He cursed as he fumbled through the unrelenting jet of water, managing to shut the tap off before I could reach him.

His hands wiped at his shirt as we stood in near silence. The only noise that could be heard was the water dripping off his shirt and hitting the wooden floor of my kitchen.

I tried not to laugh, but he looked so adorable. He was clearly shocked and unsure what to do as he wiped further at his shirt. I probably should have helped him but I was enjoying the view too much. The water was causing his shirt to stick to his body and his now damp hair looked more chaotic than ever, sticking up in all directions as he ran his hands through it.

"Sorry…" I ventured rather unhelpfully. I grabbed a tea towel and started patting at his shirt before realizing that was perhaps a little too intimate for our situation. "Sorry. . ." I apologized again as Edward stilled my hands and started to laugh.

"It's fine, stop apologizing." He pulled the wet material off his chest as he spoke.

"I can stick that in the dryer if you like? You know, to dry it. Obviously. But, I mean, that would involve you not wearing it. Which I don't have a problem with, by the way." _Oh God, I was babbling again_. I deliberately shut up and avoided eye contact with Edward as I busied myself with folding and unfolding the tea towel I was still holding.

"You're asking me to take my shirt off?" His voice was now serious and the deep, rumbling tone went straight to my stomach where it gave me butterflies once again.

"Kind of. I guess? I'm mean; I might have a hoodie you can wear?" I offered lamely.

"Oh? Does my body offend you?" Edward's following eyebrow wiggle told me he knew the answer to that question.

"Err, nope. No. Definitely not. Not at all. I just thought you might be cold," I muttered, my face turning redder with every word I spoke. I knew Edward was enjoying winding me up but I still couldn't help the flush on my face.

"Bella, you're about five foot nothing. I'm six foot three. I don't think even the baggiest of your sweaters would fit me."

"Five foot one inch, actually." I corrected him.

"Oh!" His eyebrows rose in humor at me. "That one inch makes a big difference, does it?"

"It sure does," I assured him with a wide grin.

"Good to know," he replied, as he slowly unbuttoned his soaking wet shirt.

I didn't know where to look. I should have looked away, but he was standing right in front of me in my tiny kitchen so I decided to stay close at hand, ready to grab his shirt like the hero that I am and rush it to the dryer as quickly as possible.

I didn't dare look at his chest though. If I started that I might never look away. Instead I grabbed his shirt from him and stuffed it in the dryer, setting it going before I took a deep breath and turned back to him.

Whoa!

Where had he gone? I was only joking, Edward. Come back! I definitely wanted to look at his chest. Well, I wanted to do more than look at his chest but that would be a good place to start.

Then I saw him. He was lying down, head in the sink cupboard, torso and body sticking out, taking up the whole rest of my kitchen.

Well, it looked like one of us was already horizontal tonight, as I'd hoped, this was a good start. Now all I had to do was join him!

However, despite how appealing the thought was (and believe me it was very appealing), I decided against mounting him on my kitchen floor.

"I see the problem," he muttered. "Your washer's completely worn away."

He then wriggled out from the cupboard and stood up. "I think I have a spare in my toolbox. Where's your stopcock?"

The words toolbox and stopcock coming from Edward's mouth in the same sentence produced so many juvenile jokes in my overactive mind that I was thankfully too overwhelmed to voice any of them. Probably also because I was now face-to-face with him or face-to-chest because with our height difference I was getting an awesome view of said chest. I tried not to stare, but he was so perfect I couldn't pull my eyes away.

Sparse chest hairs highlighted his reassuringly normal but oh so appealing torso. His pecs were defined and his biceps were also on show, leaving my eyes flitting all over his body, not knowing where to look first. Now that he was closer, I could smell his aftershave, the same scent he'd worn on our date, the same scent that would forever remind me of cool night air and hot, electric kisses.

While my head spun from sensory overload, Edward stood in front of me, wiping his damp hands on his jeans as he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Erm…" I closed my eyes to gather my thoughts. Now I wasn't staring at half naked Edward I could think a little clearer. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, cocks...I mean stopcocks. _N_ _ot Edward's cock! Hmmm...Edward's cock..._

I shook my head and opened my eyes slowly, trying to find his eyes, not his chest, so I could continue to attempt to think straight. "I've not had much need for the stopcock before…"

"I see," he grinned, no doubt holding back a few innuendos of his own, before looking around. "There are not many places it can be," he reasoned.

I then watched rather dumbly as he fiddled around in his toolbox, the real one, and opened and closed a few more cupboards, apprantly finding what he needed before he disappeared under the sink again and muttered to himself.

After a lot of noise and a few more grumbles he shouted up to me.

"Try the tap now...slowly! Don't turn it on too hard."

"Sure. Okay," I coughed, sure that he'd chosen his words specifically to trip me up.

I then noticed that, rather unfortunately, in order to reach the tap I had a stand with my legs on either side of Edward's horizontal body, straddling him so I could reach forward. I hastily assumed this very necessary position and gingerly turned the tap, grinning when the water flowed into the basin and not shooting into my face.

"Perfect! It's perfect!" I shouted.

"Great. I'll just tighten things up under here."

I reluctantly moved, allowing him to stand up a few minutes later, and passed him a dishcloth to wipe his hands as he grinned at his handyman success. He was looking quite smug but this time I didn't mind his smug face, it was kinda cute. In a rugged handsome way, of course!

While I was busy admiring his cute manliness, he spotted his half full drink still on the table and reached for it, downing it in one go, looking very much like the Diet Coke man on TV. _Lord help me!_

Once he'd finished re-enacting a famous 90's advertising campaign, I cleared my throat.

"Thanks, Edward. How can I ever repay you?" I asked coyly.

He growled a throaty, masculine sound before he tossed the dishcloth over his shoulder and walked forward, closing the small gap between us in two strides. His large hands held my waist and immediately his thumbs stroked just above the waistline of my jeans, under my top, on my bare skin.

"I can think of a few ways." As he spoke his hands rose and held my face softly, his large palms resting on my jaw. He then paused and looked me in the eyes, seeking permission, which I willingly gave, before his lips descended on mine.

He was right. The next time he kissed me we were alone, and this definitely felt like the start of something. His large hands held my face firmly as his tongue greeted mine and another low growl escaped from his mouth.

My hands finally found his bare chest, eliciting a moan of my own as I stroked the warm, soft skin of his torso. It felt so good to be touching him, to know that I was making his breath hitch and his kiss become even more frantic.

My hands travelled down to the top of his jeans, rubbing along the skin that led down there. Down to mini Mr. Smug Pants. Who, judging the bulge against my leg, wasn't mini at all.

Edward held my body even closer to his and started walking, guiding me to the nearby sofa and falling on it, pulling me down with him so I was lying on him the way I'd fantasized about only hours ( _let's be honest, minutes_ ) ago.

Now we were shamelessly making out on my sofa like two teenagers. Our hands were frantic, breaths were hot and heavy, and moans and groans were the only sound in the room. The butterflies in my tummy had spread to my whole body, making me rock slowly up and down on top of him, causing him to groan even louder, telling me not-so-mini Smug Pants was enjoying this position as much as I was.

Next Edward's hands rose slowly, dancing on my back, under my top.

I froze.

He was about to hit bra territory.

I had no problem with that, I'd worn my favorite bra, the lacy one that was as uncomfortable as hell and dug into my skin, poking me in places I never usually noticed, but it also made my boobs look about two sizes bigger. Those beauties weren't the problem. My Spanx were.

Was he headed there next?

I'd figured sucking and tucking was more important than lace and grace tonight so the minuscule panties matching the super bra were safely tucked in my underwear drawer as my Spanx safely tucked my stomach in from view.

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me as I pictured Edward discovering my big granny pants. This whole situation, me dry humping him on my sofa, was so surreal I couldn't stop the laughter once it started.

Edward drew his head back and looked at me with amusement.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, sorry. It's just this is right up there on my list of things I never thought would happen. Right next to alien abduction and Britney and JT getting back together."

"Who?" His eyebrows knitted together in confusion as his hands stilled.

"Never mind." I shook my head. "Continue," I encouraged.

"Okay. If I must." He grinned, shrugged and resumed his movements. His hands gripped my bra again and his soft lips made contact with my neck.

That was until he stopped.

"I'm sorry I said anything, really…" I stated as he cocked his head and smiled.

"Didn't you hear that?"

Oh, God. What internal thought had I voiced without realizing it? Was it one of the many ones about his amazing body? Or was it the one where I told myself not to moan out loud because I didn't want to sound like an injured cat? Or was it the one where I wondered if the stopcock had been found next to my leg or did he just have something in his jeans pocket?

"No, really...why did you stop? It's so good!"

"I know, baby, but I think someone's trying to hammer your door down."

"Really?"

As I spoke he shushed me and then I heard a knock at the door.

"See."

Damn. "Do you think they'll go away? Don't they know how busy I am?"

Edward chuckled. "Considering that's at least the third time they've knocked, I doubt it," he reasoned.

"Jeez. No one ever visits and then the minute I get busy…" I reluctantly clambered off his lap, muttering some more to myself about inconsiderate people as I raced down the hallway, eager to get rid of whoever was wearing away the paint on my door. Didn't they know I had business to tend to here? _Big business_.

"Umm...you might want to fix your hair…" Edward's voice drifted down the hallway to me but it was too late. I was already pulling the front door open to see my dad standing on the doorstep.

Oh shit balls!

"Hey, Bells. I knew you must be in, I saw your car. I was passing by and thought I'd look at your tap…" his voice trailed off as I stared dumbly at him, not moving aside to let him in as I usually would. I was too concerned about the possibility that he was about the meet the half-naked guy in my living room. The one that he'd previously arrested.

When I gained my composure, I tried to joke and distract my dad. "Well, you weren't passing by because you're here. In my apartment. Not passing by my apartment."

"Yeah." My dad looked confused as I frantically finger combed my hair and straightened my top. "Well, I'm here now, so, shall I?"

"Sure." I reluctantly stood aside and saw my dad's eyes widen as he took in the work boots in the entrance way.

He looked up at me, at my hair, and then stumbled. "Sorry. Do you have company?" Before I could answer he looked down the tiny hallway to where Edward was now standing, still topless.

"Oh. I see."

Oh dear God. Can the ground just swallow me up whole, please? Well both me and Edward, then we could continue making out.

"Hello, Mr Swan." Edward extended a hand as Charlie looked from his bare chest, to his outstretched hand, back to his bare chest, and then finally looked him in the eyes.

"Chief Swan."

"Dad!" I groaned at his abruptness.

"Yes. Of course. Chief Swan." Edward didn't flinch at Charlie's correction as his hand still hung in the air.

"Edward." Charlie finally, reluctantly, shook Edward's outstretched hand. "I haven't seen much of you lately, which is a good thing in my line of work. How have you been?"

"I'm doing well thanks, Chief." Nice one, Edward. It never hurt to repeat that word around my dad.

"Yes. Well, you do seem to be having fun." His eyes drifted to Edward's state of undress yet again before he turned back to me.

"Ummm...your tap."

"Edward's fixed it," I announced gleefully. That should endear him to my dad right? A guy with handyman skills, that's what every man wants for his daughter, isn't it? It would certainly save him a few odd jobs.

"Oh. Okay, well then...I'll be off. I can see I've interrupted something here."

"Dad, no. I, we, the tap, it soaked Edward's top…it's in the dryer..."

My dad raised his eyebrows to silence me before he interrupted.

"Bella, walk me out to my car, yeah?" Oh dear. He'd used his police chief voice for that request.

"Okay." I gave Edward an apologetic glance.

His response was sympathetic. "I'll just check to see if my shirt's dry." He turned to the dryer as I followed my dad outside to his car.

"I'm assuming you know that boy's history?" Wow! Dad jump right in there with the enquiries. I thought I was the reporter in the family?

"He's not a boy," I objected, avoiding the question

"Bella?" He wasn't fooled.

"We've talked but I don't know the full sorry, not yet." I pulled the sleeves of my top down to cover my hands; it was cold out here with no coat on.

"I see. Well, maybe you should find out, before things go any further." He unlocked his car as I nodded.

"Dad...please give him a chance."

Charlie must have heard the sincerity in my voice because he sighed and before he got in his car, he pulled me into a hug, dropping a kiss on top of my head.

"I'll see you on Thursday, you're bringing the pie, right?"

"Sure." I nodded. Thanksgiving plans were always the same. Me, mom, dad, a turkey and a pie.

"Go inside, it's cold out here. And, Bella, take care, please." He turned from me and sat in his car, waiting for me to acknowledge his words before he started the engine.

"Okay, Dad."

I knew he wouldn't drive off until I was safely back inside so I turned and waved before closing my front door and banging my head against the inside of it a few times.

Double shitballs. That didn't go well.

I heard Edward approach me and felt it when he ran his hands up and down my arms from behind in a comforting gesture.

I turned around in his arms, pouting slightly when I saw his shirt was firmly on his body again, right where I wanted to be.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"He's said worse to me," Edward announced as I groaned. Oh, God, this could get awkward.

"He just worries about me. He knows all the bad boys in town and his worst nightmare was always me dating one of them." I wasn't sure I should be defending my dad to Edward, but he'd looked so genuine when he'd questioned me and told me to take care.

Thankfully Edward didn't balk at the reference to us dating.

Instead he looked amused. "Yeah? How does his daughter feel about dating a bad boy?"

I grinned; pleased Edward didn't seem too hurt by this evening's turn of events.

"She doesn't mind." I shrugged. "She quite likes a bad boy, actually." I tried to flutter my eyelashes at him in that flirty way the celebs do it but I knew I was in danger of looking like I was having a fit. "She quite likes one bad boy in particular, actually," I finished.

Edward smiled and responded with a soft kiss. "Interesting. He must be a lucky guy."

I smoothed over his now dry shirt, sad that the evening was coming to a close.

"Thanks for a great evening, and the DIY. It'll be great to have a working tap again!"

"Your dad doesn't think so. I'm guessing he's not too pleased about finding me here?"

"I don't take dating advice from my dad," I replied, not directly answering his question.

"Even so, if you have any questions about my past…I wouldn't want you hearing your dad's version of events rather than mine."

He made a fair point. "I'm not judging you on your past," I reassured Edward.

"Even so...just make sure you ask me rather than believe town gossip or outdated opinions, please." He looked so sincere as he spoke, his eyes almost pleading.

"Of course."

"Okay. Good. Well, I'm guessing you're with your family for Thanksgiving but maybe on the weekend we could do something?"

"I'd really like that."

"Me too." He then collected his toolbox and stepped into his boots. "I'll call you." He dropped a quick kiss on my lips. "Sooner than last time!" He added with a grin before he exited into the darkening night.

As I climbed into bed that night I tried to forget my dads interruption and concentrate on the amazing evening I'd had. I also breathed a sigh of relief that my Spanx secret was safe for another day. Who knows, I might be better off with the good underwear for the next date...you know...just in case!

 **A/N:** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help. Any mistakes are my own.**

 **Also thanks to M-Sparkle who has made some awesome banners for this fic, you'll get to see them soon!**


	4. Chapter 4-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward and I text and called each other a few times over the next few days but, with Thanksgiving coming up, it was a particularly busy time for us at work. Dressing up as a Pilgrim seemed to be as popular as ever with the local school kids and, as always, I was amazed by the number of Thanksgiving events there were to report on in our small area.

Still, I didn't mind. I love this time of year when the air was fresh without being freezing and the evenings were dark enough to snuggle at home under my blanket without the threat of a snowfall in the morning. Also, work was going well for me lately. I'd been highly praised on my report of the Fall Festival, which was a minor miracle given I wasn't sure how I'd concentrated on the festival at all with Edward's presence there that day. My boss had liked my work and stepped up my solo reporting on local events, just in time for the Thanksgiving rush, which meant I'd been really busy these last few days and was glad to have the day of Thanksgiving itself off.

Therefore, this evening, the evening before Thanksgiving, I was watching re-runs of The Gilmore Girls on TV while baking my dad's favorite dessert in a blatant attempt to sweeten him up for the conversation about Edward I knew would follow the next day.

While the pie cooked I tried to concentrate on the TV. I sipped my hot chocolate, snuggled down further into my blanket and tried to resist the aroma coming from the oven. However, once the timer beeped, and I pulled the pie out, steaming hot and bubbling at the edges, I gave in and may have accidentally eaten a slice.

Or two.

It smelt so good when it was fresh and warm and once I remembered the whipping cream in the fridge, I was powerless to resist.

As soon as I took the biggest bite imaginable my phone rang. I would have sworn but my mouth was too full of creamy apple goodness.

"Mmmhi," I muttered, noting Edward's picture on my screen as I answered.

"Bella?"

"Mmmm. Yeah, hi." I swallowed, coughing slightly in my haste, and then greeted him properly. "Sorry, I was just devouring my Thanksgiving dessert offering."

"Don't you need that for tomorrow?" He sounded confused.

"Yeah, but it's soooooo good. Like...really good." I licked my fingers clean as I spoke and grinned at Edward's small moan on the other end of the line. "And I'm lacking any will power right now."

"Really? Shame I'm not there." Yep. I'd agree with that, I'd have even less willpower with Edward here.

"So…" he continued, "Pumpkin pie?"

"Apple. Grandma Swan taught me to bake the best apple pie ever," I spoke matter-of-factly. "Maybe I should enter it at the festival next year?" I mused.

"I could taste test it for you. Check if it's up to standard," he offered jovially.

"Edward Cullen. Are you doubting my pie making skills?"

"Nope. You're very good at everything I've experienced so far. If you're as good at pie making as other things I'm sure you'd win first place."

"Are you just sweet talking me for pie? Because I really need this one to sweeten up my dad."

"Can I suggest you don't eat it all then?" he joked before his tone turned serious. "Has he said anything to you?"

"No. I'm sure he's saving that for Thanksgiving dinner so he can get me round the table where I can't escape." I wiggled my toes in my snuggly socks and wished he was sitting next to me for this conversation. "It'll be okay though, I'm not going to give up the best kisser I know, even if my dad has a problem with your past."

I could almost hear the grin on Edward's face as he spoke. "Best kisser, huh?"

"Yeah, maybe I won't tell my dad that part though?" I mused before shaking my head. "Anyway, I'm sure you didn't call to hear me eating pie."

"No, just for a chat, but I'm hungry now. Save me a piece?"

"Of course. It won't keep long though."

"Neither will I. I want to see you. And not just for pie."

I squealed a little inside as images of how Edward and I could enjoy this pie together made me drift off to a vision involving Edward and whipped cream.

I was brought back to reality with a loud knock at my door. Huh? I wasn't expecting anyone. At least this time if it was my dad I didn't have a half-naked Edward stashed away. Although I kinda wished I did.

"I can't wait to see you either," I told him, heading down my hallway and pulling the door open.

"Well, you're in luck."

Edward was standing on my doorstep with his phone to his ear and a big grin on his face.

I squealed and threw my arms around him, surprising myself with how pleased I was to see him.

"I couldn't wait any longer for pie...or to see you," he whispered as I withdrew from him and ushered him inside.

He shed his coat and shoes quickly (that boded well for the future) and only a few minutes after arriving he was tucking into a slice of the still warm pie while I checked the ingredients in my pantry, wondering if I had enough of everything left to make another pie. A pie, half-eaten by Edward of all people, may not have the desired effect on my dad and Edward was munching his pie so fast I was sure there would soon be more than two more slices missing from the one pie I'd already made.

We spent a few minutes chatting about our recent work assignments and our respective Thanksgiving plans while I set about measuring more flour and peeling more apples.

As our polite chat continued I interrupted, I couldn't wait any longer to broach what had been on my mind since he arrived. "So, not that I'm not thrilled to see you but..."

"What am I doing here?" he finished for me, sparing me from asking the question.

I nodded, groaning a little too loudly when he licked his thumb. Gah! He was quickly learning how to distract me.

"I came for pie." He grinned around his next mouthful, showing off his shiny straight teeth before sinking them back into the pastry with a moan.

I set down the peeler and apple I was holding and turned to him. "You didn't know I was making it." I managed to reply to him without taking my eyes off his mouth...his lips.

When I looked up at him, he merely shrugged, unable to speak with a mouthful of apple and sugar. His playful mood and sparking eyes dimmed slightly as I realized he was about to change the atmosphere surrounding us.

"I figured you had questions that needed answering, preferably before you saw your dad tomorrow."

I nodded before he continued.

"I was serious the other day. I want you to know the truth about my past from me, not from town rumors."

I dried my hands on a tea towel, the replacement pie forgotten for now as I joined him at the table.

"And the truth is..." I prompted.

Edward sighed and ran his hand through his hair, tugging it slightly at the ends.

"Hey," I squeezed his arm gently in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. "You don't have to justify or explain yourself to me. But I think you're right, having the full story would be really helpful for us moving forward. I just want to know any details you want to give in case my dad brings your past up again. I can't allay his fears or contest what he's saying if I don't know your side of events." I released his arm and wiped frantically at the flour I'd left on his sleeve.

"Just remember I was a seventeen-year-old. I'd do things differently now."

I smiled in an attempt to encourage him to talk and with a deep breath he started.

"Emmett and I were very into cars as teenagers. We knew all the makes and models, bought all the magazines, knew all the stats. Emmett even had a Saturday job at the mechanics in town. We'd meet every Friday and Saturday night to check out any decent cars in town and generally fool around. Anyway...Emmett got carried away one night and stole a high-end car."

Edward stopped, ran his hands through his hair again, and turned to me for a reaction.

"What happened next?" I asked, straight faced.

"He crashed it."

"Was anyone hurt?"

"No, thankfully. He crashed it into an abandoned building and managed to get out before the car caught fire." The relief at that was still evident in Edward's voice after all this time.

"Wow! I'm glad no one was hurt."

Edward nodded before continuing. "I don't know what came over him. I wasn't even with him, maybe that was the problem, if I had been there I could have stopped him. I think that's why I did what I did, I felt guilty for not being there myself."

He shook his head before continuing. "Anyway, a witness saw a tall guy wearing dark pants and a black hoodie flee from the crashed car. I was caught on security camera at a 7/11 around the corner from where the car went missing. I was wearing clothes matching the description. Em and I both played on the same soccer team and had the same club hoodies. We'd had training that night so we both still had the kit on. The police scanned CCTV for and clues and saw someone, me, matching the witness's description, a few hundred yards from where the car went missing."

"But that's all circumstantial. How did the police get the charges to stick?"

"They assumed it was me and I didn't correct them. I went along with their suspicions and played a bit dumb to deflect their attention away from Emmett. They didn't look for anyone else because they were convinced it was me."

Edward buried his face in his hands, tugged a little at his hair and a few seconds later he lifted his head and continued. "I was sure it would all be written off as a juvenile prank gone wrong and I'd get a slap on the wrist, but of course it wasn't that straightforward. We later found out that the car belonged to a local lawyer who didn't take kindly to the destruction of his pride and joy. He was out for blood. I was in too deep then, and I couldn't retract my statements without appearing even guiltier and dropping Emmett into it. One small lie started getting really complicated."

Edward sighed, bit his lip slightly, and then continued.

"The trouble was that Em was already eighteen. Given the case was personal to the lawyer; Em would have been facing prison, real prison. I was still seventeen so for me it would be less harsh, juvenile prison or community service."

"That's still pretty serious," I stated.

"I know." Edward paused, took a deep breath and continued.

"By that point I needed a lawyer and because this was all kicking off around the time of college applications, I had to declare the pending charges. Most scholarships have clauses regarding behavior and I had to be available to travel to Canada for matches, which I couldn't have done. It didn't matter anyway because my soccer club didn't like that the crime had been committed in club clothes. The security camera images with the club's logo on them were splashed all over the news so they wouldn't give me a reference or a recommendation. I couldn't go to college without a scholarship because my family couldn't afford the tuition, not with paying lawyer's fees."

"What a mess," I whispered.

"Yeah! I consoled myself with the fact that when everything was resolved, I'd start college a year later, you know, like I'd have a gap year... but that didn't happen and, well, I never made it back." He shrugged and ran his long fingers over the pattern on my tablecloth as we sat in silence.

"So how were you cleared?"

"My lawyer was good. He found more security camera footage, this time of me at an ATM on the way home at the same time that the car's time-stamp recorded the airbags being deployed."

"Cars record that information?"

"High end ones do."

"Wow!" Who knew?

"Yeah. The charges were dropped, and I was cleared immediately." The relief in his voice was evident as he finally looked me in the eyes.

"Edward, that whole situation must have been awful," I sympathized.

He shrugged. "I try not to think about it anymore. I've grown up since then, it was like it happened to a different version of me."

I agreed. The Edward I knew was honest and trustworthy. I was sure of that.

"Were your parents mad when they found out you'd been lying to the police?"

"Yeah, but by the time they found out it was all over and Emmett and I were in the clear. I don't regret protecting my niece and sister. Rose would have fallen apart if Emmett had gone to jail right when she needed him the most. I couldn't have done that to her but, I do admit I could have handled it better."

"It's in the past Edward; I'm not judging you on it."

"Is your dad?" Edward suddenly looked very venerable.

"To be honest, I don't know. We haven't spoken since the other night."

"Well, I know your dad didn't take kindly to being proven wrong. He thought I'd made a fool of him and he took it personally that I'd stretched the truth when taking to him."

Yep. That sounded like Charlie.

"Anyway..." Edward straightened his shoulders and I could tell he was done reliving his past. He cracked his knuckles before turning to me with a smile. "I don't hold any grudges; he's a good cop, Bella. Someone I'd want on my side if I ever needed it."

"Well, let's hope you don't!" I smiled; pleased Edward was so honest about the whole incident.

"Yeah, I've had enough dealings with the police to last a lifetime."

"But, obviously if you and me...if we..." I gestured between us and he nodded.

"I know. I knew going into this if I wanted to date you and we became serious I'd have to face your dad again. I didn't know I'd have to do it half-naked though!" he joked, referring to the last time he was here in my kitchen, shirtless. _Hmmm, Edward topless...why wasn't he topless again?_ No Bella, don't get sidetracked, back to our serious conversation.

"I'll talk to my dad tomorrow. I won't let him change my opinion of you though. Edward, you're a good guy, and I'm sure Emmett agrees. He owes you big time!" I joked, resting my hand on his arm again, not caring this time about the flour I left there. If his shirt got dirty, he could always take it off again!

"Don't worry," he rested his hand on my arm and squeezed. "That has its benefits. I mean, when I have kids I'm set for life with a babysitter!"

The grin on my face faltered. Babies? Babies!

"Too soon for baby jokes?" He asked with a furrowed brow and his grin wide.

"A little," I nodded.

He merely winked at me, squeezed my arm and excused himself to use the bathroom.

I watched him walk away; marveling at how he'd turned his life around. Locals in the town had really supported Edward and how he'd looked out for Emmett and Rosalie. Most people in the town knew him as an excellent soccer coach and general good guy. I was so please that he'd managed to move on from the whole incident.

Once he was out of sight, I resumed my baking, intent on making another pie so Edward and I could eat more of the one I had already baked. Once he returned he snaked his arm round my waist from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"More pie?"

"Yeah, I think you deserve another slice of that cooked one."

The groan he let out told me he was pleased with this plan. I felt his lips nuzzle closer to my neck as he agreed.

"Mmmm, yes please." I batted away his hand as he picked up two cut apple pieces and munched them down. Had he not eaten all week? "Especially if there's more whipping cream left."

Visions of Edward's chest covered in pie and cream came crashing into my head but I managed to resist coating him in food and licking it off. Instead we talked about much less serious topics, laughed at his bad jokes and ate more pie. A lot more pie.

 **A/N:** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help. Any mistakes are my own.**

 **Also thanks to M-Sparkle who has made some awesome banners for this fic x**


	5. Chapter 5-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

I sucked in a deep breath as I readied myself for this visit. It was Thanksgiving, I really didn't want to argue with my family, today of all days, but I knew which parent I got my stubborn streak from so I wasn't looking forward to the inevitable 'Edward' conversation with my dad.

The weather was finally turning from autumn to winter so I wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck for the short walk from my car to my parents' front door.

As soon as my mom answered the door, I handed over the pie, (the second one Edward and I had made together which was low on filling as he had munched at most of the apples as soon as I peeled them.) My mom took the pie and I sighed in relief, with my clumsiness I shouldn't be trusted to carry delicate things, especially when I desperately needed that pie to sweeten my dad up.

"Hi, sweetie. Happy Thanksgiving." My mom kissed my cheek before turning back down the hallway. I shed my coat, scarf and shoes, greeting her myself as I followed her to the kitchen.

"Your father is in front of the TV watching the game. He seems to be in a grumpy mood today, maybe you can snap him out of it?" She looked at me with such hope that I didn't have the heart to let her down.

"Don't you want my help in here?" I asked hopefully.

"No, I'm ready to dish up; go cheer up your dad."

"I'll try," I answered knowing full well I was probably the reason he was so grumpy.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it to my dad as I greeted him.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Dad."

"Is it?"

Oh dear. This was worse than I thought. Even the beer hadn't helped although he took it from me with a nod of gratitude.

"Who's winning?" I sat down next to him on the ratty old couch that he refused to replace.

"Not my team."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a minute while I wracked my brains, trying to think of something to talk to my dad about that didn't involve Edward.

"So, have you managed to go fishing recently?"

"Yeah, I went the other day with Billy. You remember him don't you, has a son Jake about your age. He's a good boy."

Subtle, Dad. Real subtle.

"Yeah, I remember Jake." I remembered him alright. I remembered the one and only time we went out when he took me to the movies in his dad's truck and then shoved his tongue down my throat when we were saying goodnight. I shuddered at the memory; it was like being licked by a puppy, all sloppy and overly keen.

My dad looked at me with hopeful eyes but thankfully my mom called us to the dinner table.

Once we were seated, we made small talk. I asked my mom a few hundred more questions than normal, anything to keep the conversation on her yoga fitness class and not on Edward territory.

Mom was thrilled to tell me all about Margaret's new grandchild and Sue's new Winnebago and she didn't bring up Edward once, making me think she was either unaware or undeterred about the fact that I was dating him.

"So, Bella…"

Uh-oh, here we go. I'd deferred and distracted as long as possible, now it was time to face the music.

My dad pounced in during a break in the conversation and took the chance to change the subject.

"You and Edward Cullen seemed...friendly the other night." Clearly he wanted to find out what Edward was doing in my kitchen, topless, but he was uncomfortable broaching the topic of my love life.

"Ummm. Yeah. We met when we were both reporting on the Fall Festival." I knew my parents didn't read the county paper that Edward's article appeared in but I'm sure small town gossip about the article must have reached them by now.

"Ah-ha." My dad didn't give anything away as he urged me to continue.

"We've been on a couple of dates…"

"Jesus, Bella! You're actually dating him?" he interrupted, his eyebrows shooting halfway up his forehead as his fork clattered loudly against his plate.

"Yes. What did you think he was doing in my kitchen? No, don't answer that." I tried, but probably failed, to stop my face reddening with embarrassment as I took a big gulp of my drink and didn't look at my dad's response.

"I thought...I don't know what I thought…"

He trailed off, but he'd said enough. I knew what he was thinking. "You thought he was a fling, I was just with him to…"

"He's attractive, Bella. I get that, but to actually date him, to be involved with him and trust him…"

"Charlie, leave her be, she seems happy," Mom pitched in. "It's Thanksgiving, try to be thankful," she added, giving him a stern look over the mashed potatoes in the center of the table.

"I'm meant to be thankful my daughter, who has everything going for her, is dating a liar with an arrest record?"

Oh, Jesus! I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, readying myself for this conversation.

"Charles! Be nice!" My mom's voice was firm, and I saw a grimace twitch under my dad's moustache, no doubt because his full name had been used. He knew that meant he was in trouble.

"Dad, seriously! What's your problem? Most people in this town love him…"

"Most people in town don't know him as a lying teenager who…"

"Every teenager lies!" I interrupted, trying to remain calm.

"To the police?" He slammed his knife and fork down before tenting his fingers and looking at me seriously.

"Isabella, while I accept he was innocent of the crime that he was questioned for, he bent the truth to multiple officers, multiple times." Charlie's moustache was twitching again and I could tell he was working hard to control his voice.

"He has paid for his mistakes."

"Hmmm, sure," he scoffed, eating a huge mouthful of sweet potato and furrowing his brows even further.

"That's why you're mad isn't it?" I asked. All the pieces clicked into place and I finally understood my dad's issue with Edward. "Do you have a problem with what he did, or the fact that he did it under your jurisdiction?"

"He made me and our police unit look stupid and incompetent."

"That was never his intention. If you knew why..."

"I've heard all the reasons why. I heard Mrs. Banner singing his praises in the bakery, I've heard the soccer team's coach praising him, I've heard it all Bella. I left the Cullen's alone to get on with their lives but now he has the audacity to date my daughter…" his fist tightened round his beer can and the aluminium crushed slightly under the pressure.

"Dad, he's paid the price for what he did. He lost any chance of a college scholarship and a soccer career," I pointed out as Charlie sighed and looked up at me.

"You're my little girl, Bella. If I can't talk you out of this then at least promise me you'll be careful."

"Dad, he's a good guy. He's been honest with me and told me the whole story. He accepted that what he did was wrong, but it's over now. It's in the past."

"The past has a way of following you around for a long time, Bella."

"I think Edward knows that!" I scoffed.

We sat in silence, finishing our meal and it wasn't until the main course was cleared away and dessert was on the table that he spoke again.

"So, Jake's in town…"

"Charles, seriously? Here, eat some pie? Bella made your favorite, dear." Mom spoke a little too sweetly as she held out the pie to my dad as a peace offering.

Pie could fix everything, right?

I sure hoped so but it was looking doubtful because my dad carried on undeterred.

"I'm just saying that Jake's a good guy."

"Charles! Eat some pie." My mom cut him a slice and added a generous dollop of ice cream on his plate, probably hoping he'd soon have his mouth too full to speak.

"I don't want to date Jake, I want to date Edward, and I want you to be okay with it. Dad...please give him a chance. I really like him." I could hear the pleading in my voice and when my dad finally looked up at me I knew he had too.

"Oh, give me strength!" He stroked his fingers over his moustache and I knew the moment his eyes softened as he looked at me, really looked.

"If this all goes wrong, I _will_ give you the 'I told you so' speech," he warned as a smile stretched across my face.

"And if to goes well, you'll give a father of the bride speech," my mom piped up, prompting my dad to turn an odd shade of grey and stare at her in astonishment.

"One step at a time, eh, Renee?" He spoke calmly before turning to me. "Maybe we can start by meeting him again? If he's as genuine as you say he is we won't have any problems, will we?"

"Thank you, Daddy." I stood and hugged him awkwardly given he was still sitting down.

"Just make sure you make another of these pies, Bells, I'm gonna need something to look forward to when that day comes."

 **A/N:** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help. Any mistakes are my own.** **Also thanks to M-Sparkle who has made some awesome banners for this fic. X**


	6. Chapter 6-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Angela pulled her coat tighter around herself, grumbling out profanities under her breath and then grumbling some more when her breath puffed out of her mouth like a dragon.

"Seriously, Bella. I can see my own breath that's how cold it is; so remind me why you've taken a sudden interest in watching local soccer games?"

I wiggled my fingers, trying to stave off the frostbite as I wondered the same thing myself. Then I looked over to Edward, pacing the sideline and hollering something I couldn't hear to his team, making me remember exactly why it was worth risking hypothermia to see him.

His jaw was flexing and clenching as he shouted and pointed with the urgency of someone on fire. He sure didn't seem bothered by the cold front which had crept up on our town and smacked its residents in the face with its ice cold wind and frosty mornings.

He had on soccer shorts (shorts!) and a zip up team jacket. He completed the soccer player look with socks up to his knees and cleats. His cheeks were flushed; making me believe he'd led the team's warm up and participated in it himself. Shame I was too busy piling on twelve layers of clothes to see that. Maybe I'd have to find other ways to see him get sweaty and red faced. Hmmm, all the options…

It was then that I realized I still hadn't answered Angela. I'd taken so long that she was now looking at me and following my gaze...to Edward.

"Umm...yeah. So I might try my hand at sports reporting. You know, get a female in that field…"

Angela did not look convinced.

"What's the offside rule?" she tested me.

"Ummm, that...hmmm...that is when you're off to the side of pitch?" My answer sounded more like a question as my best friend snorted at me.

"Don't switch fields."

I sighed. "Okay, so we're actually here to support the local community. It's good for me to be seen at these events…"

"And to see that mega-hot soccer coach?' she interrupted, and I looked at her indignantly.

"Who? I haven't noticed..." even my most innocent of voices didn't fool her.

"Haven't noticed that he's now waving to you?"

My head spun back towards the pitch and sure enough Edward had seen me up on the bleachers and was grinning wildly as he waved energetically. He always had so much energy. That boded well for other activities that required lots of energy, you know, like soccer and _stuff_.

I waved back, finally able to look at him properly without gawking blatantly in front of Angela and giving away my secret. Jesus! Even from here I could see his strong thighs and the toned muscles of his legs. The left side of his jacket had his initials, EC, embroidered on with the club's crest on the opposite side. It was unzipped enough to see the collar of his soccer shirt underneath.

How was he not cold? Maybe his hotness kept him warm all year round? Hmmm, maybe his hotness could keep _me_ warm all year round. Maybe he could rub some of that warmth off on me...literally.

"Oh God, he is mega-hot isn't he!" I finally gave up any pretence to Angela because I was practically drooling over Edward; I knew I wasn't fooling her.

"He's waving you over," she squealed as my phone buzzed in my pants pocket.

I peeled my eyes away from Edward and fought my way through the layers of clothes I'd piled on earlier to retrieve my phone, grinning at the message displayed on the screen.

" _Get your sexy ass down here Missy x"_

I didn't need asking twice. Angela declined my invite to join me, mumbling about being a third wheel.

I ran down the steps as quickly as I could without falling down and Edward jogged over to meet me at the side of the pitch.

"Hey, you!"

He looked genuinely pleased to see me and I was sure as hell pleased to see him. Before I could greet him he leaned down and his lips met mine. They were warm and soft compared to the biting cold weather and I willingly sank into him, losing my surprise at his actions and only concentrating on the amazingness of his kiss.

He pulled away sooner than I would have liked but I soon realized why.

Half the team was wolf whistling and jeering in Edward's direction.

"Woo Hoo. Coach is finally getting some!"

"Biers. Three laps. Now."

Edward's eyes didn't leave mine as he spoke. But his lips curled into a smile as he heard the player with a number three on his shirt curse under his breath and set off on a jog past us.

"Faster, Riley." Edward added as the player dipped his head and picked up speed.

"Anyone else have any comments?" Edward looked at the rest of the team who only shook their heads and grumbled answers that seemed to satisfy Edward.

"Edward! Half the town is here!" I whispered. I couldn't believe he was being so blatant about our relationship. I didn't mind, I was just surprised.

"Exactly. I've just saved Mrs. Banner the job of reporting our gossip to all her chess club friends."

"Awww, she loves to gossip, don't take away her fun," I joked as I played with the zip on his jacket, wanting to stay close to him.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can give her something else to gossip about!" His eyebrows wiggled in a mischievous manner as I sniggered at his playfulness. He really was in his element here, on the soccer field, in his kit, with his team.

"Not that I'm complaining but you didn't pick the best night for your soccer debut. That wind is bitterly cold tonight. Hey...stay here…"

He let go of my shoulders, jogged a few feet away, bent over a large duffle bag and then stood up too quickly for me to get a good view of his ass in those shorts. Damn.

When he returned, he put a maroon and white beanie style hat on my head.

"Cute. Now you're officially a Forks supporter."

"Five minutes until kick-off, Cullen." An older, balding guy in a kit similar to Edward's clapped him on the shoulder as he walked past, giving him a sly grin when he noticed Edward's hand adjusting my hat.

"I'd better go. Don't want to distract you from your pre-match business," I offered reluctantly.

"You're the best kind of distraction, Swan." He leaned in for another kiss just as Riley ran past us, completing one of his three laps.

"Come and find me at full-time, yeah?" Edward checked, making me grin at his eagerness.

"Definitely." I confirmed, turning and feeling his hand cup my ass before I walked away.

Angela looked like she's watched the whole exchange between Edward and I and now had a few thousand questions. That's probably exactly what had happened. But thankfully, I managed to avoid the full third degree because Ben, a local police officer I knew as a family friend joined us and suddenly Angela became much more interested in Ben's love life than mine.

I enjoyed the match, what I understood of it anyway, but I kind of enjoyed the full time whistle even more because then I got to see Edward again.

"You won!" I ran into his open arms, glad of his warm hug after nearly two hours of sitting in the biting cold.

"Did you doubt it?" Usually I'd find cockiness infuriating but Edward's cheeky smile implied he knew he was being an ass.

I could tell he was pumped from the match. His eyes were alive and bright and he couldn't stand still; he was restless.

"Wanna come back to my place? I'm always so pumped after a game. Sometimes the guys and I go for a drink but I'd rather spend time with you."

"Sure." Eekk! I squealed internally, hopefully only internally, and Edward grinned.

"Great. Give me a few minutes to change my boots and you can follow me in your car."

We'd hung out at my house a few times now and I couldn't pretend I wasn't curious about Edward's house, his bedroom, his bed. I didn't know where this evening would lead but I was pleased to move our relationship forward in any way we could.

I drove behind Edward and pulled up behind his car in a small driveway fifteen minutes later.

He held the front door open for me as I eagerly took in my surroundings. I could tell so much more about Edward just from being inside his house. In the hallway alone I could see family photos on the walls, coats hung up next to suit jackets and quite a few well-used looking takeaway menus by the house phone.

Edward dropped his duffle bag and kicked off the sneakers he'd worn to drive in. I followed his lead and placed my bag down before shucking my shoes and pulling my beanie off.

"Keep it," he spoke when I held it out to him. He was so sincere I didn't argue. I thanked him and dropped it on top of my bag.

"So, did you like the game?" He slid my coat from my back as I tried to take in everything I could about my surroundings.

"Err, yeah."

Edward hung up my coat then turned to me, raising his eyebrows in question. A laugh bubbled from his chest. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah." I tried to sound sure, but I knew he'd need more convincing. "I liked the offside bits."

Edward closed the gap between our bodies, his smile growing wider as his hands found my shoulders.

"Bella, being offside isn't a good thing," he explained with a laugh in his voice.

"Oh." I knew I wasn't fooling him so I decided to just be totally honest. "I did enjoy the game, a lot, even if I didn't understand some of it but...well...I liked watching you even more."

"Is that so?" His body moved even closer to mine as I felt the heat between us.

"Yeah. You were all shouty." I whispered as his lips curled into an amused smile.

"Well, there isn't much time for a polite chat on the sideline."

"Oh, it wasn't a complaint. Trust me, it's a good thing. You were all bossy and pointy and…"

"Pointy?" His hands ran down my arms and stroked at my elbows as I replied.

"Yeah, you looked really hot shouting and pointing like you were in charge."

"I _was_ in charge." His voice was deeper and rougher than earlier, making my stomach flop and ache with need.

"Hmmm, yeah." That wasn't very eloquent of me but his sexy voice, coupled with his touch was making me weak at the knees.

Edward leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "Would you like me to be in charge now?"

"Yes." I breathed out the word before I even thought about it but I then gasped and looked him in the eyes. "Unless you're gonna get me to run laps or do push ups?"

"Nope," he laughed before he turned serious. "I'll do all the pushing. And thrusting."

"Ugh!"

That was all I managed to say before his lips met mine and I melted into his body.

I honestly didn't care that he was sweaty and dirty from the match. I didn't care that I wasn't wearing my best matching underwear set. I didn't care that adding onions to my half-time hot dog might not have been my best decision because I belonged here. With Edward. In his house. In his arms. In his life.

I was convinced of that.

Until I saw him naked.

We'd negotiated the stairs in a flurry of fumbles, giggles and stumbles. He'd led me to his bedroom without taking his lips from mine. He'd managed to remove all my outer clothes without making me self conscious, leaving me in just my bra and panties.

He'd let me remove his soccer shirt, raising up his arms so I could reach on my tip-toes and pull it over his head, revealing his chest to me yet again; but this time in a world where I could explore him in all the ways I'd always wanted to.

I'd admired, stroked and even licked and nibbled at his perfectly perfect chest but now that his boxers had joined his shirt and shorts on the floor we had a problem.

A really, really big problem.

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped.

"Oh, God. No. Not happening. _That_ is not happening."

"What?" He tried to look innocent, but he just looked kind of smug.

"Seriously, Edward? You...him... _that_...it's ginormous!" I gestured at him. There. But he merely laughed and held my shoulders to try to calm me down.

"No! This isn't funny. I'm serious. That isn't going to fit..." I broke his hold and started pacing back and forth in front of him.

"Calm down…"

I paused and looked at him through narrowed eyes like he was an alien. Maybe he was because, seriously...ginormous. "Calm down? That's easy for you to say! Where on earth have you been hiding him?"

Edward couldn't control his laughter as I merely scowled at him. I knew he had to come with a catch. I just didn't think the catch would be this big.

"I knew it. I knew you were too good to be true." I resumed my pacing, my mouth running away with my thoughts, as usual, but I was too worked up to care. "With your deep green eyes, your super shiny teeth and muscly arms. That chest and those thighs...gah! I just wanna straddle you and...but now? No. No. That won't fit...I can't…"

Edward grabbed me by the shoulders and stopped my pacing. He smiled widely at my less than amused expression. I was sensing he really didn't understand the _size_ of my problem.

"Bella…" he ran his finger over the top of the lace on my bra. His voice getting throaty and rough again. "I won't let you get hurt, I promise."

I looked at him doubtfully.

"I can make it really good for you. All you need to do is relax."

"How can I relax? That's like, like trying to fit a cucumber into a pencil sharpener!"

Edward's laughter outright bellowed this time as I pouted slightly. He definitely wasn't taking my predicament seriously.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We'll stop now if you want but I promise if we take it slowly, it'll all be okay." Edward's voice was placating, like he was talking to an injured cat and while I appreciated his words, I knew I wanted him, in every way possible.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Go slow." I instructed as his lips curled into a smile at my permission and he nodded.

After applying a condom he resumed kissing my neck and almost before I realized it, he had my bra on the floor and was making appreciative noises as he lowered his lips to my chest.

A few minutes later and my panties joined the rest of our clothes on the floor and before I knew it Edward was hovering over me with a questioning expression on his handsome face.

I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and reopened them. I nodded to him, wondering what I'd just let myself in for because, although I'd said it before, it warranted repeating...ginormous.

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear. "Relax."

I licked my lips and closed my eyes, trying to follow his instructions. However, it was a shame to miss out on seeing his chest so I opened them quickly to see him looking down at my body.

"You look amazing, by the way." His voice was sincere and his eyes were soft as he lifted them to look at me when he spoke.

"Thanks." I whispered, wincing slightly as I felt him. There.

He rested his weight on his elbows and used his thumb to stroke at my hair.

"Seriously...you look beautiful."

"Edward…" I groaned, as good as it felt to have him edging inside of me, I didn't know how much more I could take.

"I'm in."

"All of you?" I asked with raised eyebrows.

"Yes. All of me."

Huh! Yay me!

My face relaxed with relief until he thrust gently.

"Oh, Jesus, yes."

I only realized I'd said that out loud when I heard Edward chuckle.

"Good?"

"Hmmm, so good," I assured him.

I watched in awe as his thrusts increased. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration and his tongue wet his lips which were slightly parted to release frequent moans.

"Yes. Oh, God, right there."

Edward picked up his pace even more, always watching my face for signs of discomfort, but trust me when I say I was far from uncomfortable. I was in a state of pure bliss. For a long time I watched the pleasure on his face. The strain in his arms. The movement of his chest. The twitch of his lips. Listening to his quiet groans and his rapid breathing.

"So serious," I whispered as he looked up from my chest to meet my eyes.

"I'm trying…" Thrust. "...to last…" Thrust. "...oh, God…" Thrust "...longer than a teenager, but…" Thrust "...you're so tight…" Thrust.

"No, you're just enormous."

Edward dropped his serious expression and chucked. "I did warn you about my big head."

"Gah! Oh, that's so good. How are you doing that?" I mused.

"I'm glad because...ugh...I'm getting close, Bella, Christ…" his lips found mine in a frantic kiss as I happily welcomed them, nipping and soothing his lips as his thrusts became more erratic.

"Yes, Edward, please…now…"

"Now?" He checked, his eyes hopeful as I nodded and rode to meet his thrusts with movements of my own.

"I'm gonna...now…"

"Yes, now…" I encouraged as we both found our peek together and rode it out in a flurry of moans (mine) and swear words (his).

After around a minute of slowing our breathing and calming down Edward rolled off my body and flopped dramatically on the other side of the mattress while I pulled the cover over my now very naked and exposed body.

After he'd cleaned up in the bathroom, he crawled back into bed and snaked his arms round my body from behind. I wiggled my ass and smiled at his resulting moan.

"That was...wow."

"Yeah." I agreed lamely.

"And you survived with everything intact!" He joked.

"Yes, well, I'm not sure how well I'll be able to walk tomorrow," I moaned good naturedly.

"I think maybe I should reward you for your bravery?" His playful voice was back.

"I think so, too. I am very brave."

"Hmmm." He nuzzled into my neck. "So brave," he agreed.

"Maybe I could collect my prize another day though?" I asked as he chucked.

"Good idea."

He rolled on his back and I turned, setting my head on his chest and my hands on his warm skin.

"I mean what I said earlier, I loved watching you coach today. Those kids really respect you, which is surprising given how much you shout at them!" I commented, running my fingers over his rib cage as I spoke.

"There's no time to sugar coat anything. They need to be told what to do. They're tough. Especially our midfielder, Embry, he'll go far, that kid." Edward looked wistfully into space as he spoke.

I continued to stroke his chest as I chose my words carefully. "Is it hard watching them, knowing they're off to college soon…"

Edward sighed and shifted his back before settling down again.

"Yeah. I mean, of course it is but..." he ran his hands through his hair before turning to me. "Now I'm starting to see that my life in Forks isn't so bad after all. I should enjoy it instead of living in the past."

I lifted my head off his chest and smiled at him

"Yeah, I think we have a lot to look forward to."

"Me too."

He kissed my forehead before I settled back on his chest and felt his fingers combing through my hair until I grew too tired to fight my drowsiness and drifted into a comfortable sleep.

 **A/N:** **I hope you liked this chapter and it gave you a few laughs, please let me know your thoughts!** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help. Any mistakes are my own.**

 **Also thanks to M-Sparkle who has made some awesome banners for this fic x**


	7. Chapter 7-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward and I saw more of each other over the next few weeks; a lot more!

Most of our time was spent alone; in his house or mine, or more accurately, his bed or mine.

We occasionally came up for air and actually spent time in public, meeting Angela and her new boyfriend, Ben, for drinks and spending time together at a few more of Edward's soccer matches. I'd never get bored with watching him be in control, or of him actually being in control, _(if you know what I mean…)._

As everyone's thoughts turned from Thanksgiving to Christmas, Edward insisted on arranging a day out. He'd said that he'd pick me up at 11am on Saturday and take me somewhere special.

I'd tried all my best tactics to get him to reveal where he was taking me but despite those tactics, which involved me being naked, he was still tight-lipped about his secret. Thankfully, he wasn't tight-lipped in other areas and neither was I so he turned up early at ten and let me have one more, naked, try at persuading him to spill...his secret.

Once we were on the road, I was content to just chat with him and watch him drive as he updated me on his team's latest cup draw and his next work assignment.

I did listen although I may have been rather distracted by his hands. By now I knew them so well. I knew how good they felt to hold, how good they felt against my naked skin and how good they felt running through my hair as I drifted off to sleep. My stomach flipped deliciously as I watched them resting on the steering wheel, occasionally flicking the indicators or the heating dials and then resting on my denim clad thigh as he drove.

As he chatted so innocently, he moved his hand a few inches, higher up my thighs as I bit my lip at his not so innocent moves.

He grinned as I turned to look out the window at the festive looking houses we were driving past, trying to spot a road sign and get a clue about where we were headed. Although if Edward wasn't careful I knew exactly where we were headed _(and it wasn't our destination)_.

"When do I find out where we're going?" I asked prompting Edward to squeeze my thigh and return his hand obediently to the steering wheel.

"Port Angeles."

Oh, he actually told me! "Port Angeles? What's in Port Angeles?"

I was half expecting a visit to the Christmas markets. I'd been last year to the little cluster of huts that spring up this time of year and sell cinnamon and cranberry flavored everything, hand carved wood ornaments and wreaths made from spiky holly. However, I knew they weren't in Port Angeles.

"You'll see." His hand was back, squeezing my thigh, placating me.

"Wait...don't your parents live in Port Angeles?" I didn't know Edward too well when we were school but I knew that his parents had moved out of town once Edward had been cleared of all charges.

"Yep."

I gulped and sat up in my seat, tensing as I realized what was happening.

Surely not! Surely, we weren't visiting his parents? Edward must have lost his damn mind.

Yes! That was it! Edward had lost his mind and was just pulling into his parents' house to pick it up and then we'd be on our way to wherever our date actually was.

Phew! Okay. Now I'd sorted that out, I could sit back and relax.

I leaned back in my seat, took a deep breath and worked on relaxing my shoulders.

That was until we approached a large white clad house. The attached garage alone looked bigger than my whole apartment, but what really scared me was the number of cars already parked outside.

Once Edward's car joined them on the super fancy driveway Edward didn't run inside and collect his mind, he turned off the car engine and unclipped his seatbelt.

I turned slowly to look at him, my eyes widening almost as much as the grin on his face.

"Don't freak out…"

"Freak out?" My voice was unexpectedly squeaky as I pretended (not very well) to be calm. "Why would I freak out? We're only at your parents' house, with a lot of other people, by the looks of all these cars."

"Just my siblings and their families," he spoke with a nonchalant shrug.

"Why? Why...why are we here?"

"I'm going to meet your parents soon so I wanted you to know my family. Bella, you're important to me."

"But I've barely brushed my hair since our naked greeting this morning...I'd have dressed up…I'd have..."

Before I could continue spilling the contents of my racing mind, Edward leaned forward and held my chin with his thumb.

"None of that matters." He leaned forward and kissed me, reminding me of just what mattered. Him. Him and us. Not my clothes, not my hair style. Just the fact that he wanted to introduce me to his parents spoke volumes for our relationship and once Edward's kiss had shut me up and calmed me down, he sat back in his seat.

"I'd have asked you but I didn't want you to worry. You'd have fretted about what to wear and what to say and there's no need. I want them to meet the real Bella, the one I've come to know and love."

I froze.

Edward froze.

"I mean...I realize I haven't said that before…" He scrubbed his fingers over his chin before meeting my amazed looking face. "I didn't plan that part...but it's true, I'm falling in love with you, so...join me for lunch at my parents' house?"

My stomach flip-flopped at his words as he unclipped my seat belt for me, glossing over his whole 'I'm in love with you' declaration as he waited for some kind of acknowledgement from me.

"Ummm, sure." I wanted to kick his (very cute) butt for springing this visit on me, but after telling me he's falling in love with the me it was difficult to stay cross at him. Damn him.

He took my vague answer with a nod as he exited the car and rounded it to my side. He held my door open for me. As I stumbled out, he caught me before I could fall further.

"Deja vu!" I joked, holding onto his chest, needing support from his words as much as my stumble.

I took advantage of my close proximity to Edward and flattened my palms on his t-shirt, revelling in the feelings surrounding us.

He pulled me into a kiss, starting it slowly, and as my hands held his chest tighter, his kiss deepened.

"Oi, Oi! That's enough of that, Eddie!"

Edward froze, took a step back from me and looked in the direction the bellowing voice had come from.

I followed his gaze and saw a guy I recognized from the Fall Fete as Edward's brother-in-law, Emmett. He had his head hanging out of a top floor window, with his fingers in his mouth as he wolf-whistled at us.

"Bastard," Edward whispered as he gave Emmett a rude finger gesture before smiling and turning back to me.

"Come on," he encouraged as he locked his car with a flick of the keys, took hold of my hand and led me to the front door.

We stood on the doorstep hand-in-hand as he rang the doorbell and we waited.

"Oh, by the way…" I squeezed Edward's hand, prompting him to turn to me. "I'm falling in love with you, too."

Edward's face was a mix of amazement and elation, but two seconds after he registered what I said the door opened and he turned automatically to greet his mom.

After hugging her son she greeted me in the same way and then ushered us inside.

"Bella, dear, Edward's told us so much about you."

"He has?" My voice croaked as Edward chuckled and I shook my head. "I mean, oh, how nice."

Mrs. Cullen smiled fondly at me.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit flustered. I didn't know we were coming here today, I'd have brought something…"

"Bella makes a mean apple pie," Edward interrupted, kissing his mom's cheek as he passed her. "She'll bring one next time," he spoke casually as he nodded in greeting to his approaching father.

Next time? I gulped but didn't have time to panic because Edward was now introducing me to his father as Emmett came downstairs and met us in the hallway at the same time.

Edward grinned fondly at me as I stumbled my way through meeting his dad. Carlisle Cullen. _The_ Carlisle Cullen. Editor of the county's biggest paper for decades. He was a celebrity in my field and now I was shaking his hand and hoping that Edward hadn't told his father too much about his love life.

After some back slaps and whispered words between Edward and Emmett we all made our way into the large kitchen to meet the rest of Edward's family. His sister, Rose, was there with Bree, as well as his brother, Jasper, and his wife, Alice, and their two kids, who didn't stand still long enough for me to work out which kid was which.

We ate a casual lunch with plenty of drink and laughs. I could see Edward was in his element here. He and Emmett shared many in-jokes, making each other laugh with seemingly innocuous words or sayings. Rose fondly rolled her eyes at them on more than one occasion, but witnessing their closeness helped me understand why Edward had done what he did for Emmett. They had a bond forged over many years of friendship and it was amazing to see this playful, happy side to Edward.

I'd been so fascinated watching Edward's interactions with Emmett; I hadn't noticed his mom taking a seat next to me until she spoke.

"It's so nice to see him happy," she told me as I turned to her. "I think you're a big part of that."

"Really?" I asked doubtfully.

"Of course!" She chuckled. "He's talking about the future for once instead of looking back at the past."

I smiled. "Good. He deserves a bright future."

"I agree." She nodded and looked down at her hands before taking a deep breath.

"Bella, dear, Edward hasn't introduced us to many girls and I can't pretend I wasn't surprised when he told us he was dating you. But he seems really happy, I just, I hope his past won't complicate things."

"I know that the history between Edward and my Dad isn't ideal but I won't let it come between us."

She nodded and patted my arm. "He said the same thing."

Edward noticed his mom and me talking when he looked our way. He grinned, his eyes alight with happiness as he approached me and slipped his arm around my waist. His nose nuzzled my hair as he whispered in my ear, not caring who was watching. "I hope they're going easy on you?"

"You have to face my dad, so I can't complain!"

"True," he answered with a chuckle and a kiss to my hair. His nonchalance at my comment was pleasing. He clearly wasn't too worried about meeting my dad again and, after the 'I love yous earlier, I was glad that meeting would happen sooner rather than later.

"Uncle Edward," Bree interrupted as Edward's arm left my waist and he picked his niece up, sitting her on the breakfast bar in front of us and placing his arms either side of her her to stop her from falling.

"Yes, Cheesy?"

Bree. Brie. Cheesy. I get it, it sounded like a nickname I'd have come up with.

"I went to gymnastics class this morning. I can do a lay-over now, can I show you?"

"Sure." Edward didn't sound as sure as he looked to his sister to check that he'd said the right thing.

"Why don't you show Uncle Edward out on the decking, baby?" She said already opening up a sliding door before Bree raced outside, followed by Edward.

"We can't keep her upright. She's always twirling and spinning and turning upside down," Rosalie told me as she watched her daughter affectionately.

"I'm sure Edward can keep up," Emmett chipped in. "He told me you've been to watch a few of his games?" Emmett continued.

"Yeah, it's fun. Although I think I'll enjoy his games a bit more in the summer, when it's warmer."

Rosalie laughed. "I love your honesty."

"Speaking of honestly," Emmett started, "I never thought Edward would be dating Chief Swan's daughter. You must mean a lot to him for him to risk that."

I was flattered by Emmett's words but I could also hear what he wasn't saying. "Emmett, you don't have to worry. My dad won't hear any new details about Edward's past. Not from me."

Emmett nodded and smiled slightly. "Thanks, as Edward's family, we'd all appreciate that."

We then all joined Edward and Bree outside, taking our drinks out onto the balcony and watching Bree twirl and spin her way through the afternoon. I snuck off to take a quick call from my mom while everyone stayed on the decking to watch Bree's tumbling exhibition. I had a meet and greet of my own to arrange.

Before we left, Edward's dad made a point of chatting to me and let's just say if Edward takes after his dad as he gets older then I'm definitely in for a treat. As well as being ridiculously handsome for a man his age, he was very interesting to talk to. Having our jobs as reporters in common meant the conversation flowed easily and a quick chat turned into a long talk. I could see Edward looking over and smiling. I knew he was close to his family, and he'd want us to get on, which, given who my father is, wouldn't necessarily be straightforward.

When it came time for us to leave Edward hugged both his parents, nodding and smiling at something his mom whispered when they parted.

"Come on, you." He took my hand and led me down the front steps to his car.

Once we left Edward's parents' mansion, I mean house, I breathed a sigh of relief.

"They love you," Edward assured me, starting the car, pulling away and resting his hand on my thigh.

"Just like you!" I announced in a sing-song voice. I flopped my head back on the headrest and turned to see a silly grin spread across Edward's face, even though he was fighting it.

"Just like me," he repeated, his voice sincere.

I sighed happily and turned to look out the window, content to sit with Edward and just be in his presence.

"I've never said that before…not to a woman." He looked straight ahead at the road as he spoke.

"Really? Wow!" I was stunned.

He nodded, squeezed my thigh and grinned. "I want you to know I won't let your dad put me off. He can disagree with me, hate me even, but I hope it won't get in the way of our relationship."

I nodded in agreement, even though Edward was looking at the road. "That's good because I know we talked about you two meeting again so I've arranged for us to have dinner together...tomorrow."

I saw Edward's jaw tighten as he swallowed. "Great!"

He only sounded a bit sarcastic but I couldn't blame him.

"It'll be fine." I assured him, squeezing his thigh. "And, if not, at least you'll get some more pie out of it!"

 **A/N:** **Thanks for reading and for your continued interest in this story. Please let me know what you think, your reviews really do encourage me to continue. I love to hear your thoughts and really appreciate any reviews.**

 **Thanks to my Beta EdwardsFirstKiss and my PreReaders Sarcastic Bimbo and RebAdams who are always at the end of an email to help. Any mistakes are my own.**

 **Also thanks to M-Sparkle who has made some awesome banners for this fic x**


	8. Chapter 8-Hay Bales and Hot Bylines

**A/N:** **I don't own Twilight or its characters; they belong to Stephanie Meyer. This is just what they got up to in my mind. I do not own any publicly recognizable entities herein. No copyright infringement is intended.**

Edward and I agreed it would probably be best to meet my parents somewhere neutral; mainly, because I didn't fancy Edward meeting my dad anywhere near his gun collection.

That was how we ended up in Sue's rustic little café in town. As soon as we walked inside, I spotted my parents sitting in a booth seat, both sipping from mugs and deep in conversation.

I took hold of Edward's hand, partly because I needed the reassurance from him and partly to show unity to my dad. I wasn't here for his approval; I just wanted my father and boyfriend to get along.

My parents turned when they heard us approaching and my dad's face didn't exactly light up when he saw Edward and me holding hands. My mom however squealed a little too obviously before clapping her hand over her mouth and excitedly standing up.

I introduced them both to Edward, even though they already knew him; I hoped it would help us all start afresh.

Edward was on his best behavior today, shaking my dad's hand and calling him Sir. Anything was worth a try to sweeten him up.

"We haven't ordered yet," my mom said as we took the seat opposite them. I resisted the urge to bury my head in the menu and hope this lunch was over already.

We made small talk while deciding on what to eat and then placing our order. Edward then excused himself to use the restroom before the food arrived.

"Oohh, Bella, that boy's smitten with you," my mother shrieked when Edward was barely out of earshot.

"Mooooom," I moaned, sounding like I'd regressed to my teenage years.

"I can tell," she continued unperturbed. "He was looking at you when you were ordering, such a sweet look. I know these things, baby."

"Oh lord," I groaned under my breath, silently willing Edward to hurry up so my Mom would change the topic. Hopefully. Although, knowing her, she'd carry on talking about Edward right in front of him.

However, she didn't need to because she made the most of our time alone to continue "There's such chemistry between you two…"

"I'd rather not know about my daughter and her boyfriend's chemistry," Charlie grumbled, making my mom roll her eyes affectionately at his grumpy nature. I would have been embarrassed, but I was just pleased my dad was finally referring to Edward as my boyfriend. Maybe, just maybe, he was coming around to the idea.

Or, maybe not, because when Edward sat back down the questions started.

"So, what are you kids up to today?" While we certainly weren't kids anymore, I let that one slide; we had bigger issues to deal with. I glossed over the fact that I'd spent the morning in Edward's shirt, lounging around with him on the sofa, reading and talking while he stroked my bare legs and I ogled him in nothing but his jeans.

I thought it was best to start after those events.

"We had a quiet morning. We might go shopping later, I need a dress for Jess's wedding."

"Hmmm, dress shopping? Edward must really like you to spend his Saturday in dress shops."

I didn't have a chance to complain to my dad that he didn't have to talk about Edward like he wasn't here because Edward spoke up himself.

"I do, sir. I'm sorry if I'm not the person you'd have chosen for your daughter but I promise I only want the best for her."

My dad took in a deep breath and finally looked at Edward properly. "Edward, I don't have a problem with the man you are today. By all accounts you're an upstanding citizen and a good guy. I just don't like knowing what I know about your past."

Edward sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "With all due respect, that was a while ago. Now, I've changed. I hope, in time, you'll see that I'm not a kid anymore. I can't pretend that part of my life didn't happen. In a way, I'm pleased it did. My arrest shook some sense into me. I was headed down a dark path. You slapped some fear into me and made me never want to be on the wrong side of the police again."

Charlie nodded. "It's nice to know you learned from your mistakes."

"I did." Edward confirmed unequivocally.

Our food arrived and broke the serious tone of the conversation. While I was busy stealing a fry off Edward's plate, and checking out his cute grin when he caught me, my dad swallowed a mouthful of steak before he cleared his throat.

"You coach the town's soccer team, right?" Where was my dad going with this? I hoped it was somewhere good, I was desperate to avoid refereeing between my stubborn father and reformed boyfriend.

"Yes, sir," Edward replied proudly.

"Top of their league I hear," my dad continued. I knew my dad had zero interest in soccer so he would have had to go out of his way to find out this information. My mom looked over to me with raised eyebrows, clearly she thought the same thing.

"Yep, we're aiming for promotion for sure."

"Good. A guy I work with on the force, his younger brother's on your team, Quil?"

"Yeah, he's a good player." Edward nodded his head as Charlie continued.

"He said you're a good guy, fair, hardworking…I guess I've been a bit hard on you. I just want the best for Bella. You get that, right?"

"Sure. Of course."

"Maybe we could start over?"

"I'd like that," Edward answered, sounding pleased and relieved as I squeezed his thigh under the table, grateful he was being so gracious.

We continued to eat, the conversation slowing now that our mouths were full of Sue's amazing home-style cooking.

Once my dad finished his meal, he pushed his plate into the middle of the table and sat back with a groan, placing his hands on his belly. "That was delicious," he declared and I'm fairly certain Edward's presence was the only thing stopping him from licking the plate.

"So, Edward," he started. Oh boy, where was this going? "Why journalism? After everything that was printed about you in the papers, I'd have thought you'd want nothing to do with the media."

Edward sat up straighter in his seat, turning serious as he cleared his throat and rested his hands on the table top. He too had cleared his plate, leaving both my mom and me to finish eating as we listened.

"I wanted to stop people from going through what happened to my family," he answered simply. "We were put through hell. My parents' house and earnings were scrutinized; their colleagues, neighbors and so-called friends were interviewed. The press tore into our lives without ever thinking of the real people behind the headlines. I wanted to be an honest reporter; a voice of reason perhaps. I know as one individual I can't make much of a difference, but if just one reporter had shown my family some kindness and humility, it would have made a big difference to us."

I reached over and rested my hand in Edward's, touched by his words.

"I always thought your family were treated badly in the press. How are your parents these days?"

"Good, thank you. They seem to have found a new lease on life since becoming grandparents."

My mom coughed on her mouthful of chicken pie as Charlie's eyes went wide.

"That's nice, but dear God, please don't make us grandparents, yet! I know I'm warming up to this relationship, but that would be more than my blood pressure could handle right now!" He spoke in jest as I saw his softening expression and caught the glint in his eye.

"You're all good, Dad," I reassured him.

He nodded and accepted the bill from our approaching waitress.

Before Edward or I could object he'd handed her his card, holding his hand up to silence us.

"This meal's on me. Take it as an apology for the way I treated your relationship up until now. I can see how much you care about each other and any guy who looks at my daughter like she's the only girl in the room, well, he gets my blessing."

"Thanks, Chief Swan," Edward answered, sounding pleased.

"Call me Charlie," he replied.

Shortly after that we left for our afternoon of dress shopping. I'd practically skipped out of the restaurant. I was amazed that my dad had accepted our relationship and thrilled Edward was coming to Jessica's wedding. With me! As my date! Ha ha! Finally I could rock up to one of these events with a hottie that I hadn't paid for. (I'm kidding, I didn't quite go that far for Lauren's wedding.)

So, having established that I could save my wages and bring Edward for free, I had some money for a new dress. Every girl wants to look hot at their friend's wedding, right?

That's how I ended up in a dress shop, carrying a bundle of dresses, all various styles and colors into the changing room.

I left Edward waiting near the underwear and bras. He stopped his eyes bugging out of his head by burying his face in his phone and muttering about desperately needing to message Emmett.

Back in the dressing room I squeezed myself into various dresses. The first few weren't flattering but my favorite emerald green backless choice was up next.

I smoothed it over my hips and dared to look in the full length mirror.

Huh. I quite liked it. It was fitting and flattering while still adhering to the wedding restrictions of not being too showy or revealing.

I took a selfie and texted it to Edward, complete with a happy face and sad face emoji and a question mark.

He replied almost immediately with a thumbs down.

My heart sank a little as I examined myself in the mirror, trying to place what it could be that Edward didn't like about the dress. Or maybe it was me that was the problem, not the dress. Maybe it was a bit too tight. Or short. Or both?

Before my heart and self-esteem could sink all the way to the floor, he sent me another text.

"That one's not right. You look far too hot for other men to see. I'll spend the whole day chasing guys away. Good thing I learned some self-defence moves in my youth!"

He was cute. But was he serious? "Really? I'm not sure now." I replied.

"Don't make me come in there, Swan. You look great in that dress but it'll look even better on the floor."

Gah! "Maybe I'll try it on again at home. Just for you."

"Maybe I'll look forward to that. A lot."

"But seriously, is this the right dress for the wedding?"

"Absolutely."

Edward's reply was much more convincing his time. I took another look in the mirror, smiling again. I didn't need to try on the other options. I knew this was the one. The color matched Edward's eyes, and with my hair and makeup done, and the right shoes I knew I could make this work.

I emerged with the green dress folded over one arm and a grin on my face. "Wanna help me find some shoes to match?"

Edward groaned. "You're killing me, Swan."

"I'll make it worth your time," I promised as I dropped a chaste kiss on his lips.

He groaned again. "Lead the way!"

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

At Jessica's wedding one month later, Edward looked super-hot in a black suit and a tie that matched the green of my dress. The wedding was memorable for me for two reasons. One, because it led to the best sex of my life (let's just say Edward _really_ liked that green dress), and two, it was also the evening he asked me to move in with him.

I was surprised, we seemed to be moving fast, but I knew it felt right. I didn't hesitate, and neither did he. We agreed that night (after the amazing sex) on renting somewhere new, somewhere we could make a home together.

I left it to the last minute to tell Charlie and baked another apple pie for that conversation. I needn't have worried though; true to his word, he had given Edward a fresh start and found they had a lot in common. They were both fiercely loyal, and both had moved on from their pasts.

ooooooOOOOOOoooooo

One year.

It had now been one whole year, almost to the day, since I'd reported from the Fall Festival.

Last year's event had changed my life, so much so that this year I'd walked through the entrance holding hands with Edward. Partly so I didn't fall on the uneven ground but mainly because I was madly in love with him and pleased to be working on a story together, for once.

The next day we'd woken early, keen to read our published pieces.

"Here." Edward tossed me the paper as I sat up straighter on the bed, getting comfortable against the pillows. I turned to the relevant page and scanned the pictures to see which ones had made the final edit before I skimmed the article.

Edward meanwhile was bent down, looking around on the floor by my side of the bed.

"What are you doing?" I asked, continuing to read his article.

"I dropped my phone," he replied, now on his knees on the floor.

As I reached the end of the article, I noticed some sentences that were most definitely _not_ in his final draft (not that I had snuck a look before he pressed send on the email. I'd never do that. Well, almost never). I slowed down my skimming and read the last paragraph properly.

Then I gasped and turned to Edward.

He was now down on one knee, a ring box open in one hand and a serious expression on his face.

I squealed and clasped my hands over my mouth, knowing I was bound to say something stupid at such a crucial time. I sat up straighter. "Yes! I will! I do!"

Edward chuckled. "I haven't asked you anything yet!"

"I know, but I want to marry you, Edward. So much."

"Hey…" Edward turned serious. He reached out to me and held my face, looking me directly in the eyes. "I only intend on ever doing this once, so can you just let me do it properly?"

"Sorry." I tried to calm down my grin, but I knew it wasn't working.

Edward smiled and then took a deep breath. "So...Bella...will you and your big mouth marry me?"

"Yes!" I laughed, watching as he slipped the glittering platinum ring on my finger before standing up. He leaned over, kissing me as I pulled him further on top of me.

"You wrote your proposal in the paper?!" I gasped as reality set in.

"Thought I'd carry on my annual tradition of making a fool of myself for you and giving the town something to gossip about," he groaned good naturedly.

"What if our parents read this? They'll know before we get a chance to tell them!"

Edward grinned sheepishly at me. "They might already know," he whispered.

I rolled up the paper and whacked him with it. "What?"

"Well, I asked your dad for permission and judging by your mom's squeals, she heard, too. And, I kinda told my parents what I was planning." He shrugged.

I guess that made sense, and at least this way they wouldn't read about it in the paper. Still, I whacked Edward a few more times with the rolled up paper until he pinned down my arms and kissed me into submission.

"Mrs. Banner is gonna love to gossip about this at her chess club," I whispered.

"Can we not talk about Mrs. Banner right now?" Edward groaned, thrusting gently on top of me, making me moan.

"Okay, it's just us two."

"Just us," Edward agreed with a grin and another soft kiss. "Always, just us."

 **A/N: So that's it for these two! This story is now complete. Thank you to everyone who has read it.** **Please let me know your thoughts on this story. I absolutely love readers reviews.**

 **This story is was featured on at TwiFanFictionRecs and voted 6th in the Top 10 Completed Stories in May 2017. Thanks to anyone who voted.**

 **If you enjoyed this story and haven't read my complete multi-chapter fic, Tougher Than the Rest, please give it a go and a review or two.**

 **I do have some other stories in mind so be sure to put me on author alert to get notifications of future stories.**

 **I'd like to give a final thanks to SarcasticBimbo, EdwardsFirstKiss and RebAdams for their time and help with editing and improving this story. Also thanks to M-Sparkle for the awesome story banners she's made for me.**

 **I can be found on Twitter as KoalaLouWrites and on Facebook as Koala Lou. I have a Facebook page where I'll post photos, links and teasers for my upcoming fics and chapters. It's called KoalaLou Fiction so please look me up if you're interested.**

 **Bye...for now x**


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